Ljósbarn
by ElGato44
Summary: Without the light the darkness festers. All too soon the human world is held in the clutches of the monsters that threaten humanity's very existence.
1. Prologue

**_Disclaimer: I do not own KnA nor the gods they portray._**

* * *

_My Lord of the North, Watcher of the Æsir, General of the Valkyries,_

_I send this message by way of Hermes because it is of the utmost importance. _

_Time has run against me. Against all of us. I trust you know what I am talking about. Perhaps I put too much faith in just one human girl. She has accomplished much of what I asked, but this is just too much. I fear for the future._

_I have thought of an alternative. We must send him to the humans. Perhaps living among them would help him gain a better alternative. In order to do that, I need your help. Stripping him completely of his godliness and memories will be painful for him. With your help, the pain shall be quick._

_I implore you Lord of Ravens. Think of your kin. It will be what's best for him…and the world._

_By the word of the Ruler of the Olympians._

_Zeus._

* * *

_Zeus_

_Is there no other way? Have you exhausted all avenues? You seem to think that you know all and yet you have failed here._

_Regardless, I shall be at your garden post haste. I don't want him to be afraid. I don't want him to cry. If it will make it quick, I have no choice but to comply._

_But do you know how risky this is? His power is a double-edged sword. Yes he brings the darkness, but his light keeps the darkness at bay. Humans need his light to guard against the dangers that lurk. The world cannot last long without his light._

_I give it a year. One year. We can hold back what hides in the darkness, but not for long. If he cannot regain his powers by then, fate help us all. I shudder to think what cataclysm will happen._

_From the voices of Thought and Mind._

_Odin Alföðr._

* * *

A/N: This was supposed to be an idea for the second part of Draumer Edda, but ultimately I scrapped it and the second part will be different. I don't want to give too much away, but since I had so much of this story thought out I thought it would be waste to scrap it completely so I made it a separate story in its own little AU world because I wasn't completely satisfied with the anime ending. Draumer Edda is still my primary story, I just have to lay this out for my own benefit.


	2. Chapter 1

**All Usual Disclaimers Apply**

* * *

_"Hold still. Close your eyes. It will only take a second."_

_"Come on. We must do this quickly."_

_"I know that! Can't I at least say some sort of goodbye?"_

_"Let's do this now!"_

_"Whatever happens, boy, just watch the skies."_

"—karu."

"Hikaru."

"HIKARU!"

His blue eyes snapped open, waking from his dream. His head was throbbing from the jostling it took when is head rested against the side window of the truck.

"Wake up Hikaru," a man in his mid forties, with short black hair, and a thick black beard demanded. "Dozing off again?"

"Sorry," Hikaru's soft voice apologized as he adjusted his black beanie, that covered his long blond hair that was tucked in. "I didn't get much sleep last night."

The man next to him looked annoyed, "Those dreams again? What happened to those sleeping aids we bought for you?"

"They…don't work."

The older man sighed, "Next week we'll take you to a doctor. I can't have you dozing off when doing this type of manual work. It's dangerous. And you're already clumsy enough as it is."

Hikaru could only nod, "I appreciate it Mr. Musashibo."

Mr. Musashibo turned the corner and drove up the street, staring at a rather quiet area surrounded by trees. It seemed a quiet neighborhood. Out of the way of the busier suburban areas.

"Here it is," he said. "Now this is a shrine owned by a good friend of mine. Be on your best behavior."

He pulled the truck up in front of a series of steps that led up a hill, a Torii gate arching over it. He left the car running and waited only a little while before a young man bound down the steps to greet them.

Mr. Musashibo rolled down the window, "Hello, Manabu."

"Mr. Musashibo, good afternoon. Hold on a sec, let me open the fence so you can roll up."

Hikaru watched the young man disappear up the steps and moments later the electronic fenced gate that led to the dirt and gravel driveway of the residence and shrine slid open. Mr. Musashibo drove up and turned up the driveway. He stopped the car.

Waiting for them was two people. One was a man wearing traditional shrine clothing and beside him was his daughter, also wearing traditional clothing.

"Come on, boy," Mr. Musashibo said as he opened the car door. Hikaru opened the other side and went about opening the bed of the truck to get the landscaping tools as Mr. Musashibo went over to talk to the owners of the shrine.

Yui Kusanagi stood by her father as she watched the contractors drive up in a red pick-up truck with letters on the side reading "Musashibo Contracting: Landscape, Contracting, Plumbing, Painting, and Delivery."

She knew Mr. Musashibo for as long as she remembered but they weren't very close. The bearded man usually did odd services for her father in helping maintain the shrine. Most of the time he brought with him two or three well-built workers to help do the heavy work. For smaller work, like delivering supplies, he came by himself.

This time, however, a young man stepped out of the truck. She hadn't seen him before, and yet he seemed so familiar. He was most definitely foreign. He was tall, wearing a black sleeveless shirt that showed of his strong arms, dirty cargo pants and work boots and beanie that more than likely hid an abundance of hair. Blond hair if it was the same color as the rather thick mess of whiskers on the young man's jaw and upper lip.

In spite of the strong physique and facial hair, he seemed to be her age, if not younger.

Yui squinted trying to get a better look as he rummaged in the bed of the truck, trying to pinpoint where she may have seen him before.

Beside her, her father greeted Mr. Musashibo, "Good afternoon." He shook the bearded man's hand and they both bowed to each other. Yui bowed as well.

"Good afternoon."

Mr. Kusanagi glanced over at Hikaru and said with a serious tone, "Is that him? The boy they found by the river a year ago?"

Mr. Musashibo glanced over his shoulder, "Hikaru? Yes he—"

He was interrupted when they heard a crash by the truck. Hikaru was on the ground, landscape supplies strewn all over the ground. He had tried to pull a surveying vector out, but it was stuck under shovels and posts and various other equipment that toppled over.

"Hey!" Musashibo yelled, "Be careful with that!"

"Y-yes, sorry," Hikaru said nervously as he straightened and dusted himself off before scrambling to put the supplies back into the bed of the truck.

"Just make sure you get the package out carefully."

"Yessir," Hikaru grabbed a large cardboard box from the truck and hoisted it in his strong arms. Meanwhile, Musashibo sighed and grumbled.

Mr. Kusanagi blinked, "I do need to ask if you could take a look at the shrine while you are here. There's been some leaking."

Musashibo nodded glancing at the foreign boy, who approached the group with the box and asked, "Where should I place these?"

He sounded polite, but still Musashibo gently pressed his hand against the back Hikaru's neck forcing him into an awkward bow, "Show some respect. You've been here a year and you still don't know how to greet people correctly."

"I'm sorry," Hikaru apologized again, looking sincerely upset at his mistake. He bowed properly, "It won't happen again."

Mr. Kusanagi and his daughter didn't look at all bothered by his social blunder. Mr. Kusanagi had heard of the young man's story so he could understand that he was not accustomed to the social norms here. Yui Kusanagi could see quite plainly that he hadn't meant to be rude at all, so his lack of proper greeting didn't come to mind. 'Hikaru' seemed rather lost.

Her father beside her smiled softly, "I'm glad to meet you. And this is my daughter Yui…"

Yui bowed at her name, giving extra politeness as she usually did for acquaintances.

"Nice to meet you."

Hikaru bowed his head, "Nice to meet you too."

"She's decided to help run the shrine. So far she's given her full dedication. Unfortunately I can't say the same for her brothers."

Mr. Musashibo laughed, his great chest heaving as he did so, "At the very least we'll have someone capable to take care of this beautiful shrine."

Yui couldn't help but blush. Hikaru even smiled gently, more relaxed that Mr. Musashibo wouldn't scold him again. He blinked a few times finally getting the full image of the young girl in his head. Had they met before? This was his first time going to the Kusanagi shrine. Other times, Mr. Musashibo brought on men who were on contract with him to take care of the shrine.

Hikaru had worked with Mr. Musashibo on other projects in other areas, just not here. So why did he think he knew this Yui Kusanagi from somewhere else?

He felt a nudge and he jumped. Mr. Musashibo elbowed him lightly in the shoulder to get him back to reality. "Don't be spacing out, Hikaru. Where do you want those talismans, Kusanagi?"

The shrine owner pointed by the stone walkway that led up to the shrine, "The shed behind the shrine is where we keep all our supplies. We have no room in the shop right now. Yui can go show him."

The young lady nodded, "Right, follow me."

"Take a look at that leak while you're there, Hikaru," Mr. Musashibo instructed. The young man nodded, "Yessir."

The two older gentlemen watched as Yui led Hikaru to the supply shed. Mr. Musashibo sighed, "Poor lad."

"He's only been here a year…or at least only a memory of it," Mr. Kusanagi replied trying to see the bright side of Hikaru's rather obvious struggle to fit in with society. "And there are still no clues?"

"Not a one," the bearded man replied. "He's got complete amnesia. Couldn't remember his name, where he's from, who he is. He knew no one and nobody's claimed him. The authorities checked with all European embassies to see if they have gotten any reports of someone from their country missing here and nothing. What can you do with a situation like that?"

Mr. Kusanagi chuckled, "Find someone like Yumiko to name and adopt him."

Mr. Musashibo didn't look amused, "This is a woman who can't leave stray cats behind. She only asked me if I could find him a job. And we didn't adopt him, he's just…living under our roof and we take care of some of the expenses for his needs."

To Mr. Kusanagi that sounded a lot like adoption. Of course Ken and Yumiko Musashibo hadn't signed any legal tender that stated that this mysterious foreign boy was their legal son. And it was only a year. If the young man was around Yui's age, he would be well on living a life on his own, but for someone who was still just trying to get the basics of Japanese society down, there was no way he could survive without some help.

Mr. Musashibo rubbed the back of his neck, "He's a good kid and works hard but…he's just not all there. He daydreams a lot and lately he's been staying up all night which is throwing off his sleep cycle."

"That can't be good in construction or landscaping business," Mr. Kusanagi adjusted his glasses with a frown.

"It's not," Mr. Musashibo replied, his brow furrowed in worry, "Hopefully he'll get over it."

Yui walked the short path to the shed behind the shrine with the taller boy beside her. For some reason she dreaded that shed. Recently she began feeling a twinge of emptiness when she stepped in it and she could never explain it. However, with the boy next to her, she didn't feel as empty as she usually did when she opened the rickety door.

Hikaru eyed the door and mentioned something about it needing oil.

"You can put that anywhere," Yui told Hikaru and he nodded with a lopsided smile. He placed the heavy box on the ground and pulled his utility knife to slice open the tape at the ends of the box. It was a small and inconsequential gesture but most of the people who he delivered for were eternally grateful for that. It made opening boxes on the fly easier. At this point he got into the habit of slicing the tape open, unless it was something perishable.

"Alright," Hikaru straightened putting the knife back in his pocket. He turned to the junior shrine keeper. Yui's brow furrowed struck by his face. He was incredibly handsome, that much she knew even from a distance. But those blue eyes. Yes, they were the most beautiful blue eyes she was sure she had ever seen, but once again she was sure she had seen them before.

"There was something about a leak?" he asked catching her staring at him with a confused look on her face. He would have been bothered by it if he wasn't trying to get a close look at her himself.

"Oh," Yui snapped out of her staring, "Yes follow me."

The two walked over to the physical shrine itself. Yui unlocked the back where most people weren't allowed to step in. Only when she and her father or the workers were there to do maintenance or fix something was that area opened. She removed her zori sandals and Hikaru removed his steel-toed work boots, following her example. As he unlaced them he heard a distinct crow coming from above. He glanced up finding two black crows or ravens perched on top of the shrine staring at the both of them. He heaved sigh and thought nothing of it.

Inside the tight space, Yui pointed to the area where the ceiling was leaking water on the floor, "It's been like this for a few weeks. We at first thought it was minor, but I'm afraid of water damage."

Hikaru bent down and took a look at the floor, "Not yet but I'd put a tarp over that area. There is this sealant that prevents decay you can find at any hardware store, but for now we can put something down until we fix it."

He glanced up and found a small crack in the wood in the ceiling, "Oh, yeah, there's the culprit."

He reached up with his long arms and tapped the crack, feeling the damp area, "I'm more concerned here. Water seeping inside the wood is harder to prevent damage, but the crack isn't uncommon."

"How do you mean?"

"Tectonic shifts and foundation settling can cause cracks. It's unavoidable unfortunately. Something like this isn't hard to repair though."

"So, wait, is there a crack in the foundation?"

Hikaru shook his head, "No, but I'll check of course, but it's just a small crack as the shrine moved. We can fix it when we come back and trim the plants and mulch the beds."

Yui felt relief. Hikaru seemed rather confident in his analysis, and with Mr. Mushashibo at helm, at the very least the shrine wouldn't crumble. Just Yui's divine luck that after her family keeping the shrine for generations it would fall to pieces under her watch.

Hikaru turned to face her with those bright blue eyes.

_Blue as the Northern Seas._

That analogy sounded so familiar.

Hikaru's brow furrowed, "Are you alright, Kusa—er...Kutanagi?"

The foreign boy shook his head in defeat. Japanese names were always heavy on his tongue. With the exception of Musashibo, which he had all the time to practice and the few standard surnames, more complex surnames seemed be torture on his language skills. That was the first clue that whatever his past life was, he sure didn't know Japanese very well. He learned fairly quickly the basics from the Musashibos but his accent was heavy and sometimes not understandable. So he kept his words small and succinct, which, Hikaru was aware, made him sound rather dumb to the ears of the native speakers.

"Kusanagi," Yui replied slowly. Internally she shrugged, "Just call me Yui if it will help."

"Yui," he said. In truth, he appreciated being able to call someone by their given name. Most of the time he had to show social respects to seniors and had to call them by their surnames. Never had he had the chance to have a peer. Not that it was anything. She was just a client.

A client with a very familiar face.

He pressed a hand to his broad chest, "Call me Hikaru. Mr. Musashibo is still having a hard time when people call me by his last name."

Yui's eyes narrowed. Did he have no last name? True it was strange that a Nordic looking young man would have a Japanese name. She never questioned it. In fact she thought it was rather appropriate.

She became very aware as Hikaru's blue eyes narrowed on her, staring intently. It made her a little uncomfortable, but perhaps Yui shouldn't be complaining, as she was sure she was staring at him as well.

Hikaru cleared his throat, cheeks going red, "I'm sorry. I just think…I've met you before. I know I'm wrong bu…

"You're kidding," she replied, eyebrows shooting to her hairline. If he thought they'd met once before as well then perhaps she wasn't going insane. "I feel the same thing, but for the life of me I cannot for sure remember where or when. You'd think I'd remember if I met someone like you."

Hikaru's thick blond eyebrows drew together, his heart pounding in his ears. He couldn't just lay on this young woman the want and need for her to remember, but if she thought she met him before, perhaps she was key in finding out who he truly is.

Yui watched as Hikaru ran a hand over his whiskers, jaw muscle quivering as something heavy was on his mind. Whatever was bothering him, he didn't say. He just sighed, with a disappointed look on his face, "Regardless, we have met now, right?"

Yui nodded and Hikaru ducked under the doorway to step out. He pulled on his boots and carefully walked around the perimeter of the shrine silently searching for cracks. Thankfully he found none and gave Yui the good news.

"I don't see foundational damage. So that's good."

"What happens if there was damage?" she asked.

Hikaru shook his head, "It depends on the extent, but we'd likely have to dig deep underground to get to the problem. Rather unsightly and extensive work. I don't know how it would affect your visitors."

Well now they didn't have to worry about that, thankfully. As the two walked back to the two adults who were looking at some rather gamey hedges, laying out all the work that needed to be done in the upcoming days, Yui asked Hikaru, "Does Mr. Musashibo's work you hard?"

Hikaru sighed but nodded, "Yes, but it's my job. He's trying to make me tougher. I'm just…fairly useless."

"He didn't say that did he?"

"Well, yes, but it's fine really. I owe a lot to him. I'm not smart enough to do much else and I'd be homeless, I assume, without him."

"Still to call someone useless—"

"It's fine," Hikaru assured with a small smile as he shoved his hands in his pockets. He glanced up seeing Mr. Musashibo beckoning him over.

"Did you take a look at the leak?" he asked.

"I did. It's just a small crack in the roof."

"Right," Mr. Musashibo sniffed, before smiling at Mr. Kusanagi. "Well, Kusanagi, we'll see you in a couple of days. I think we can get this all done in a matter of two days tops."

"Very well, thank you Musashibo," Mr. Kusanagi bowed. Yui did the same. Mr. Musashibo did so likewise and Hikaru followed suit.

As the two workmen strode towards the truck, Yui noticed Hikaru stumble slightly over his feet as he stepped onto the driveway. It wasn't peculiar. He just hoisted his pants up a little before opening the door to the truck.

But when he tripped over his own feet, Yui knew definitively that they had met before.

Hikaru and Mr. Musashibo filed into the truck and waved goodbye to their client. As they pulled out of the driveway, Hikaru's eyes were one the young woman, following her form as the truck pulled further away, his hand lingering in a waving pose.

Mr. Musashibo caught young Hikaru gawking at the young woman. Rather than scolding him, he didn't say a word and pulled into the road not noticing a helmeted figure in a purple jacket follow after them on a speed bike.

Hikaru's mind was on Yui Kusanagi and where they may have seen each other. Hikaru didn't go to school so she wasn't a classmate, and Yui said herself that she would have a hard time forgetting a face like his. Whatever that meant. At some point, Hikaru resigned himself to thinking it was just a matter of being at the same place at some point, though where and when escaped him. He didn't live anywhere near here and the only time he'd been to the neighborhood was to do a simple plumbing job with Mr. Musashibo a few weeks back.

After a few minutes of silence, Mr. Musashibo reached behind him, eyes still on the road, rummaging to find something specific. He pulled the week's newspaper up and said happily, "Weather's looking good tomorrow Hikaru. Which is good for us. It'll be smooth seas when we set out for that U.S carrier tomorrow."

Hikaru was silent, his mind blank as he watched the road.

"Hikaru?" Mr. Musashibo asked. "You like sailing don't you?"

"Hunh? Oh, yessir, I do."

With one hand on the steering wheel, Mr. Musashibo rubbed his bearded chin, "Remember it's an early morning tomorrow alright?"

"Yessir. I know."

After Musashibo left, Yui followed her father inside their home, where her mother was folding her brother's laundry.

"The whole thing isn't going to collapse, is it?" Mrs. Kusanagi joked.

Mr. Kusanagi laughed, "Hardly."

Yui went into the kitchen to pour some water for herself and her father when she heard him talk to her mother about the foreign work boy.

"You remember that boy Musashibo told us his wife took in?"

"No-Oh wait. The one the police found by the river? The foreigner?"

"Yes," Mr. Kusanagi nodded. "He came by with Mr. Musashibo today. Poor kid."

The water forgotten, Yui listened intently trying to gain a big picture about Hikaru.

"….well if he's lost all memory I can't blame him for struggling to adjust."

Mr. Kusanagi chuckled a bit, "He'll be fine. The Musashibos are taking good care of him I'm sure, but it is strange that it's been a year and there are absolutely no clues as to who he is. It's like he...dropped out of the sky."

Yui held her tongue, wanting to question more. But was that right? Would being interested in this person's mysterious origins sound suspicious? She could imagine the teasing she'd get from her brothers. But what if she truly had met Hikaru before, before he lost his memories. Then wasn't she at least culpable in helping him remember. The problem was she couldn't quite remember herself.

She shrugged a little, finishing her glass and moving to the dojo to practice her kendo until dinner was ready.

* * *

A/N: Trust me. Things are not going to go as you think.


	3. Chapter 2

**All usual disclaimers apply.**

* * *

Mr. Musashibo and Hikaru didn't arrive home until the sun had set. They lived about an hour away from the Kusanagi shrine, but they had to stop by the hardware store to pick up some new tools. They lived in a small shore town whose biggest attraction was the wharf that housed the coast guard and the ship yard. In the area there were more boats than cars. Mr. Musashibo's father was a fisherman by trade and he followed in his footsteps. At least for part of the year. The other year he did his usual contracting business.

Mr. Musashibo and Hikaru entered their small home, taking off their dirty work boots at the door before entering.

"We're home," Mr. Musashibo called as they entered.

"Welcome back," replied Mrs. Musashibo, who was busy laying out dishes to prepare dinner. Yumiko Musashibo was middle aged but she aged very well. Her dark hair was tied up in a bun usually and she had a soft kind face that rarely frowned.

She was a nurse at the hospital in town and was one of the first of the doctors and nurses Hikaru remembered seeing as he lay in that hospital bed, helpless and scared, not understanding anything that was being told to him. When he finally understood that they wanted to know if he had a name, he quite understood that he didn't have one. Mrs. Musashibo gave him the name "Hikaru", referring to the brightness of his face and eyes, as she told him. When it became obvious that the hospital could not hold him much longer, even while the investigation into his identity was still going on, she pulled him to Mr. Musashibo who begrudgingly gave him a job as an assistant. Then Mrs. Musashibo offered Hikaru to stay at their place for a few weeks. As Hikaru was ready to leave, she insisted that he stay for another month. And then another. It was quite plain, that although Mr. Musashibo loathed the idea, that Hikaru was going to live with them. Even for Mr. Musashibo it was hard to just kick a young boy with nowhere to go out in the street. So the decision was astoundingly clear.

As the two males of the household filed in, Mr. Musashibo told Hikaru, "Go upstairs and clean yourself up for dinner."

"Yessir," Hikaru said before greeting Mrs. Musashibo and ascending the narrow stairs to the second floor. After he did so, the older man drew closer to his wife with a smile on his face.

"How was Hikaru at the shrine today?" she asked, still busying herself with pan searing beef strips.

"He was clumsy as usual, but he was adequate," Mr. Musashibo said noncommittally. "But I caught him staring at the daughter of the shrine owner."

Mrs. Musashibo raised an eyebrow, smiling a little, "Oh really?"

Her husband laughed, "Yes, I'm sure of it. He's going to be a handful."

"I can't say I blame him," Mrs. Musashibo replied. "It's not very often he meets a girl his age. There aren't a lot of his peers around here."

"I'm not _too_ concerned. He's not the type to catcall or anything, unlike the other hooligans I have to work with."

She laughed and turned to her husband, pulling his beard, "Wash your face, dinner's almost ready."

Mrs. Musashibo laid out the dinner on the small dining table and almost on cue Hikaru descended the stairs and placed himself on the table quietly. Mrs. Musashibo poured him a large glass of milk and laid the carton next to the glass. The few things that was known about Hikaru early on is that he loved meat and drank a lot of pasteurized milk. Mrs. Musashibo got a few strange looks at the store whenever she bought several cartons of milk at once. At this point the local grocers laughed, knowing who it was for.

Mr. Musashibo eyed the young man angrily. "Get that thing off your head," he pulled the black beanie off the boy's head revealing his shoulder length long blond hair, "It's not polite at the dinner table."

Hikaru ran a hand over his bothersome hair. When Mrs. Musashibo first saw Hikaru, he had long blond hair and was rather slim, but fit. After working several months with her husband, he grew bigger and fitter, possibly in part for his large appetite of meat and milk. His hair was still a bother to him. It wasn't helpful during hot days at work, and whenever he worked around town it drew unneeded attention from the housewives who certainly didn't mind seeing a fit young man with long flowing blond hair working in their yards and fixing their plumbing. It was the one thing Mr. Musashibo didn't mind. The frequent calls for "young Hikaru" to paint a fence that was already painted or to fix a sink that didn't need fixing meant money.

As bothersome as it was, whenever he cut his hair, it grew back very quickly. At one point he cut it off completely leaving only a shaved head, but by the end of the week his hair reached below his ears. So on most days he just kept his hair under the hat to hide his locks. He even grew a beard to hide his youthful face, but still with hat and facial hair he got attention.

Hikaru murmured his apologies and went about eating silently.

"So Hikaru," Mrs. Musashibo began, "How was work today?"

Mr. Musashibo's brow furrowed hoping his wife would spare Hikaru the embarrassment of being caught looking at a girl.

"It was okay."

"Just okay?"

Hikaru nodded, "A routine inspection—"

"He did a good job with that," Mr. Musashibo complimented. "He could be a fine contractor yet."

"Thank you, Mr. Musashibo," Hikaru said, smiling a little. He certainly seemed a little tired and as always caught in his thoughts. Mrs. Musashibo didn't let that bother her. She assumed it was to be expected of a growing boy caught in his peculiar situation.

Dinner was as usual with the Musashibo's chatting away like the married couple they were and Hikaru largely remained silent, not sure it was right to be a part of their conversation. As welcoming Mrs. Musashibo was, he always felt like an intruder in their lives. Mr. Musashibo spoke excitedly of his work trip tomorrow. He hadn't been out sailing for a while now and relished the idea of doing so with an actual crew.

When dinner was finished, Hikaru helped Mrs. Musashibo wash the dishes while Mr. Musashibo turned on the TV to watch baseball. At some point, Mrs. Musashibo assured Hikaru that she had the dishes under control and told him to relax. As he sat on the chair caddy-corner to Mr. Musashibo to watch the baseball game with him in silence, the bearded older man turned to look and said sternly, "Nuh-uh. You're going to bed early. You need your rest for shipping off tomorrow, especially since you haven't been sleeping well lately."

Hikaru glanced at the man blankly.

"Go on, go to bed and make sure to take some of those sleep aids as well."

Hikaru nodded, feeling like he did something wrong. As he stepped up the stairs, Mrs. Musashibo wished him goodnight.

* * *

_Watch the skies…_

_There's something up there. Watching._

_But below. Deep below they hide._

_Keep your eyes up. Watch the skies._

He was blinded by a flash of silver, pressure penetrating his chest.

Hikaru violently awoke in the middle of the night. Deep into the night as the house seemed to be dark. He rolled on his stomach glancing out his one window at the darkened sea, the pounding of thunder in his ears.

The roaring of voices.

He stepped out of bed drawn silently to the window. Thunder was roaring nonstop. It wasn't supposed to rain was it? He opened the window, gazing up at the dark sky.

But the sky was open, dark clouds covering flashes, a rainbow of colors swirling menacingly. Figures and creatures were silhouetted against the clouds clashing and swirling, flames and ice spurting. Hikaru's heart beat as an inhuman cry split the sky.

He gasped, awakened once again. It was still dark. He rolled on his stomach and stared out his window. The skies were clear. Empty.

A dream again.

Hikaru sighed rolling on his back, feeling helpless from his own subconscious. He breathed silently, trying desperately to fall back asleep. The more he consciously tried to fall asleep, the less relief he got.

Eventually, thankfully, after hours of tossing and turning, he drifted uncomfortably to the realm of dreamless sleep.

* * *

At around 5 a.m., just as the sun was starting to rise, Mrs. Musashibo knocked on Hikaru's door.

"Hikaru. It's time to wake up."

There was no response so she opened the door slightly and peered inside, "Hikaru?"

The boy was asleep, fully dressed with his hat, sweatshirt and jeans. He probably got up in the middle of night and dressed himself but fell asleep waiting for the others to awaken.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she turned to her husband who reached over to softly close the door.

"Let him sleep," he said gently. "He's had a rough couple of days. I'll let him sit this one out."

Mr. Musashibo finished packing his small knapsack of spare clothes and the couple saw each other off at the doorway of their home.

"I'll see you tomorrow night," Mrs. Musashibo said, clutching her robe over her body against the chilly morning air.

"Right," Mr. Musashibo nodded, "While I'm gone, have Hikaru start painting the Tanaka's fence. It'll give him something to do."

His wife nodded and tugged on his beard bringing him closer to give him a quick kiss on the lips.

"Be safe, Ken," she said as he hoisted his knapsack over his shoulder giving her a goodbye wave. Mrs. Musashibo watched as her husband walked down the street towards the docks, going back inside once he almost disappeared from her view.

At the docks Mr. Musashibo was greeted at the boat by the rest of the crew.

"Hey, about time Musashibo," a younger gentleman teased, leaning over the portside of the boat as another younger man busied himself with placing supplies. "What? Wanted a few extra moments to have some 'fun' with Yumiko."

Mr. Musashibo smirked and shook his head as he stepped onboard, "Shut your mouth, Kubokawa."

The man who captained the vessel was a grizzled older man with tattoos on his arms. He was a fisherman and a rumored former whaler. Despite his appearance, he was extremely professional.

"Ready to fix the American Navy's problems again?" he asked Musashibo with a broad smile.

"Hey, I'll never bypass a chance to take money from the U.S government, Tadoka."

The small crew laughed a little. The youngest member, Kubokawa, however looked confused, "You'd think the biggest navy in Japan's seas would have a sufficient repair crew in their military."

"They do," Joziro replied, adjusting his headband as he closed the casing of the engine after making sure it was running sufficiently, "But they don't have an endless list of supplies. We're just taking these gas tanks and metal replacement pieces to them to do whatever they do."

"But there's still gonna be repairs right?" Kubokawa asked looking dejected. He was a boat repairman by trade. It seemed like a waste if he came aboard and didn't get to do his trade job.

Musashibo rolled his eyes still not believing he had to work with young hooligans even on an important job for a foreign military, "You'll get to repair something. I promise."

Joziro crossed his thick exposed arms over his chest, "Hey, Musashibo, isn't your boy coming along?"

Musashibo's eyebrow twitched at Hikaru being referred to as 'his boy', but he didn't correct him otherwise, "No, I let him sleep in. He'll get his due I assure you."

Tadoka stepped out of the steering pit, looking rather impatient, "Are we ready to shove off or what?"

"Aye, sir."

The small vessel headed straight on into the seas. As far as they went there was no indication of a storm or tough seas. The coast guard frequently gave captains of industry vessels reports of weather, current shifts, tides and of the like and everything checked out. The two youngest Joziro and Kubokawa spent the trip playing cards, while Tadoka navigated and Musashibo went back and forth between monitoring radio signals from the coast guard and other ships and staring out at the vast openness of the sea. While his gaze was out at the relatively clear waters, Tadoka radioed the coast guard.

"This is the vessel _Iruka._ We have reached about 123 fathoms offshore. All clear. Standing by."

After about a second the coast guard replied, _"Affirmative, switching radio signals to _USS Nathaniel Greene_. Radio when you've arrived."_

"Confirmed."

Kubokawa laid down his cards and leaned back in his chair, "We're getting pretty far out. We won't run into some Umibozu will we?"

Joziro nearly choked on his laughter, not thinking that Kubokawa was at least a little serious, "You've got to be joking. Don't tell me you believe in that sea spirit crap."

Tadoka defended the younger crew member by shooting back from his steering wheel, "And you don't? Most sailors have those sea myths close to their heart. You don't have to believe in them, Joziro, but at least respect them."

"My dad used to tell me those stories all the time, I guess I always thought of the possibility," Kubokawa explained as he shuffled the cards.

"No need to worry," Tadoka assured. "I made sure I prayed a little extra to the gods today."

Musashibo kept his mouth shut. He never really believed whole-heartedly in gods or spirits. On some level he thought they were there, but just distant, letting mankind get into whatever trouble they desired. Tadoka however was deeply religious, both a Buddhist and Shinto believer, though he was rather "born again" in certain respects.

They kept reaching further out, the land completely disappearing by now but there was no sign of the carrier. To make things even more upsetting they could see dark clouds in the sky ahead.

Tadoka checked his coordinates, "It should be around here."

At this point Joziro and Kubakawa turned their whole attention to the skyline ahead, trying to see if they could spot a carrier. U.S. carriers were some of the largest ships of the world, it shouldn't be hard to spot, but they were at the coordinate location and there was none.

Kubakawa took out some binoculars and gazed at the open sea, looking around for something. Anything.

"I'm taking her further out," Tadoka said, chugging the boat ahead.

The seas were wide open. Nothing around them. A scary thing more often than not. Even a seasoned sailor like Musashibo got a little unnerved at floating with nothing else around.

"Hey look," Joziro pointed slightly to the left of the direction the boat was facing. There underneath the dark clouds was a mass of a ship. It certainly looked like the carrier they were looking for. Relief flooded Musashibo's chest and Tadoka switched the frequency of the radio.

"I'll hail them," he said and drew the receiver to his mouth. "This is _Iruka_ hailing _USS Nathaniel Greene._ Please copy."

There was only static as a response. Tadoka put down the receiver and accelerated towards the ship. The huge ship was just drifting, but to Musashibo felt like the ship was oddly…silent.

Tadoka hailed again, "This is _Iruka_ hailing _USS Nathaniel Greene._ Do you read?"

Still static. "_USS Nathaniel Greene_, I repeat, do you read?"

Static again. Tadoka's aged and confused eyes turned to Musashibo and it was then they knew. Something wasn't right. Were they alerted to their coming? They had to be.

Kubakawa leaned out the side of the boat to get a better look as Tadoka shifted to head straight towards the ship. Eventually instead of going on straight, the navigator decided to try circling it at a distance in hopes to get a message from the carrier. Hails to the carrier were still being made with no response.

"We're circling the starboard side," Tadoka said, gazes of the crew still on the bow of the carrier. The ship was indeed large that even at a distance it was hard to get a good quick view as Tadoka circled.

But then Musashibo noticed something. Small shafts of black smoke. His mouth was slack as they got a view of the starboard seeing fully that one of the largest crafts in the seas…was missing a half.

The stern half was gone completely and left a floating mass.

"What…in gods' name…" Joziro gasped in horrified awe, seeing the interior of the ship exposed and the twisted gnarled metal mass where the half was cut off. Small gas fires were still lit where the chunk of damage was.

Fumbling with his binoculars Kubakawa took a closer look gaining all he could. He swallowed, seeing a couple of bodies strewn about the wreckage and bobbing in the water.

"You think it was an explosion?" Musashibo asked believing that something tragic like that may have caused a split in the ship and the other half could have sunken to the bottom of the sea. But that didn't make sense. Surely a distress call would've been made and if one half fell so should the other.

"It's like…" Kubakawa paused taking a deep breath. "It's like something bit it in half."

Before anyone could smash his theory the sky suddenly grew dark with grey black clouds and everything seemed colorless. The water seemed a deathly black.

"Send a distress signal," Musashibo suggested urgently to Tadoka who was so stunned by the wreckage that he didn't think to try to call the coast guard. He picked up the receiver and hurriedly called the coast guard.

"Coast guard station, this is _Iruka_. We are issuing a distress call—"

He couldn't finish his call as all of the sudden the lights of the boat and everything electronic shut off completely.

"What the hell?" Tadoka complained but not sooner had those words come out of his lips that the whole sea seemed to rock violently, like an earthquake erupted in the water. Waves billowed higher as the once steady seas grew unsteady.

The boat jerked and Kubakawa lost his balance and was sent into the dark writhing waters.

"Kubakawa!" Musashibo yelled and wasted no time in running to the edge and throwing a life preserver. The younger man surfaced looked ashened and distinctly frightened. He fought as hard as he could against the rough waves feeling as though the large billows only pulled him further away.

Musashibo pulled off his jacket prepared to jump in after him, but Joziro stopped him. The younger man did not want to see two of his fellow workers be at the mercy of the black waters. "Are you insane!" he yelled over the roaring waves and the spray of water that washed over them as the boat sunk and jerked against it.

"I can't leave him out there!" Musashibo roared back his beard now dripping with water. "Go and help Tadoka—"

"Pull me in!" They heard a tired but frantic call. "For gods sakes pull me in now!"

Kubakawa managed to latch onto the safety preserver and the two sailors went about trying to pull him in but the waves kept pulling him away. They were afraid that the rope would snap against the violent jerking. Kubakawa meanwhile was a frantic mess whimpering something unintelligible.

"GODDAMMIT GET ME OUT OF HERE!" he cried aloud.

As soon as Joziro and Musashibo got him close enough to the boat, Kubakawa risked falling in again as he practically leaped on board. He held the hand rail, eyes wide in disbelief, gasping against the beating of his chest the violent rush of water that pour on board, "There's something down there."

"What?"

Musashibo glanced down in the blackness trying to spot whatever Kubakawa may have seen. Was there something? If there was it was…big.

A curdling demonic roar hit the sky crushing the sounds of the waves.

There was no time to collect themselves from the shock as the seas rose up, swallowing what remained of the carrier. Large, round waves taller than sky scrapers flowed through the surface causing the small boat to tilt almost vertically. Everyone grabbed on to something and was left hanging. Except Tadoka who grabbed the steering wheel to prevent from fall, but it snapped off and he slid down his boat frantically trying to grab something to hold on to. Musashibo tried to catch his hand in time but, ultimately, failed.

Crying and screaming Tadoka violently crashed into the end of his boat and bounced into the waters of the unknown.

Whatever giant wave they were on flattened suddenly and the remaining members crashed into the deck violently. Joziro lost his grip and braced himself against the handrail. The tanks of gas however jerked loose from the force and rolled as the boat rocked and the thick metal objects flew down landing on his legs and waist, crushing his spine and legs.

He cried out feeling the snap but then nothing. He hooked his arms in the rails to keep from rolling about as the water became less predictable. Almost as if… something…was thrashing underneath.

Musashibo heard his comrade cry out and seeing Joziro pinned by the tanks he rushed forward and tried to pull the tanks off. Meanwhile, the younger man was crying profusely, scared that he was going to die.

Musashibo turned to Kubakawa who was clinging desperately to the rail at the opposite end, "Help me!"

But the young man didn't move from his rail, scared and clinging on for dear life. Musashibo yelled again, but the boat jerked violently as a wrathful wave hit the side. Kubakawa bounced off his railing from the force and was washed away as the wave engulfed him.

Before anyone could recover from seeing the young boat repairman disappear, a another sky-scraper like wave rose up tilting the boat on its side and the tanks rolled off the now numb Joziro. Musashibo grabbed the handrail finding himself dangling once again, facing the violent black depths below.

Joziro cried out as he lost his grip and began falling, but Musashibo grabbed his hand. He tried to keep his grip on the younger man as long as he could, but everything was drenched, his hands already slippery. He grimaced feeling his grip slipping. He was desperate to keep a firm grip on his junior, telling Joziro to hang on as tightly as he could.

It was then he saw movement. Or he thought he did.

That inhuman curdling screech filled the sea and sky again and Joziro's hand slipped through Musashibo's fingers. He stared on helplessly as the man fell into the sea. He wailed even as the boat flattened, but he swallowed his cry as something large rose from the water looming like a shadow of death over the miniscule boat. To his horror, it wasn't a wave.

It slammed over the small boat and the _Iruka_ was claimed by the sea.

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A/N: Read and Review


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own or get money off any of this. There are several minor OCs that are mine alone, but aside from that and the plot (sort of) is owned by Mythology/Broccoli's interpretation of mythology.**

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Chapter 3:

Up high in the heavens above Mt. Fuji, the god of the moon, Tsukuyomi stroked his beloved rabbit, waiting patiently. His brother, Susanoo, left several moments ago, not telling him nor the other gods where he went.

Then, Tsukuyomi, also known as Tsukito by the family of Japanese gods looked up. He thought he heard something. Something not usual. Tsukito flinched as a light, almost blinding to him approached with a frantic step.

"Tsukuyomi!" the god, who sometimes was a goddess, was dressed rather beautifully with red and black robes, a crown of rays, and had long white-red hair. His beauty always had an air of fury, especially when it came to Tsukito for reasons not quite known to many of the gods. Tsukito stood prepared for whatever tongue lashing the god was about to give him. Amaterasu, also known to some as Akira, stared flames at the moon god's rather lifeless eyes.

"Where is Susanoo?" he said feeling that rather indescribable urge to slander Tsukito well in his chest. As usual the disinterested god had no clue. On Tsukito's part, Susanoo had always been relatively independent if not protective of others, so he didn't think much of it.

Akira, on the other hand, sensed something. Something…bad.

With a rush of wind the two gods turned to find the disturbance. Their short but muscular brother stumbled towards them, looking winded and was bleeding from the head. Susanoo's eyes were wide, exhausted, and almost to tears.

"Takeru!" Akira called out in worry as the young god fell to his knees from the damage he received. Both Tsukito and Akira rushed to his aid.

"Are you okay?" Tsukito asked trying to show his concern, but ultimately failed. Susanoo, aka Takeru, knew immediately that his beloved brother was truly worried.

"I'm fine," Takeru breathed waving his hand to shoo the two away from getting any closer. Regardless, Tsukito examined the bleeding as Takeru sat on a nearby stone, breathing in deeply. Akira asked, "What happened?"

"I-I…we couldn't hold them back. I fought as long as I could. Even Ryujin couldn't hold against it."

Akira's eyes traveled over Takeru's shaken form, thankful that he was at least safe. But something else was on his mind, "Has it been a year already?"

"What was that?" Takeru asked not quite hearing Akira's gasp. He gazed confused at his vibrant sun god brother as he abruptly a stood and turned to leave. "Where are you going?"

Not missing a stride in his perfect angry sashayed step, Amaterasu replied, concern hanging in his throat, "I'm going to have a chat with Ryujin."

* * *

Hikaru awoke quite suddenly, again awakened with a flash of silver. Whatever his incoherent dreams were, they always seemed to end with silver. What that silver was he didn't know. He sat up, realizing that he was fully clothed. He looked out at the sea seeing a deep morning blue in the sky and water.

Panicked he scrambled out of bed rushing down the steps.

Mrs. Musashibo was in her nurse's scrubs, sipping coffee at the dining table when Hikaru scrambled down the stairs, whimpering, "I'm late…"

"Hikaru," she called. The young man stopped in his tracks before he reached the door. "It's okay, he's already gone."

Perplexed he stared at the woman, "H-he's not angry with me is he?"

Mrs. Musashibo withheld laughter and shook her head with a smile, "No, he's the one who suggested you sleep in. Come. Have breakfast with me."

Hikaru obeyed awkwardly, still confused. He set about fixing himself a bowl of rice and egg, pouring himself a large glass of milk. He sat down across from the woman and began eating. Mrs. Musashibo eyed him with a wry smile on her face. He caught her stare, wondering why she was looking at him that way.

"Oh! Sorry," he murmured taking off his hat, forgetting to take it off at the dinner table. Hikaru ate his meal, devouring it in only a few bites. Mrs. Musashibo withheld laughter seeing the young man practically eat his breakfast in one gulp.

A bus full of students passed by the road next to the house and for a moment Hikaru paused, staring after the school bus. This didn't go unnoticed by Mrs. Musashibo. It was silly to think that a kid ached to go to school, but Hikaru seemed to be the exception. It was easy to see why. The town was full of either really young couples with young children or older folks whose children already moved on with their lives. A school would give Hikaru the peers he possibly craved. Mrs. Musashibo had spent a while debating on weather or not he should go to school. But his actual age and knowledge level was unclear.

The doctors even brought in an anthropologist expert to see him to determine his actual age via dental exams and other features. He came back inconclusive but estimated that Hikaru was in his late teens. If that was true he didn't have that long before he would be off either getting on the job market or going to college. At this point, unless he did plenty of independent studying there was no way he would pass the college entrance exams. Mr. Musashibo may have been correct in introducing him to the trade market early rather than subjecting him to school, which would've been a lost cause. From what her husband told her, Hikaru was a good enough assistant and works hard. You can't ask for a better trait than that.

"Ken did want you to start on the Tanaka's fence while he was away. Can you do that?"

He nodded, with a little bit of hesitation. He did other projects on his own before, mostly fixing plumbing, but oddly enough he found safety in being with Mr. Musashibo and his workers when they were in a neighborhood of lonely housewives with the wandering eye.

The Tanakas were a nice married couple with a young son who asked way too many questions. But their neighbors, the Hinoshizas, were a little bit of a bother for Hikaru. Mr. Hinoshiza was a travelling salesman who sold software to firms all across the country. Since the software was widely used he got himself a nice living and moved to a large house on the sea with his rather beautiful wife.

Hikaru was old enough and knew himself enough to be attracted to good-looking girls and women. Still, Mrs. Hinoshiza never ceased to make him nervous. She had a 'reputation.' For the most part, Mrs. Hinoshiza was very much a modern Japanese woman in her prime and she had not trouble expressing that fact. But it caused concern for the more conservative community she lived in.

In most instances, she was considered a temptress and Hikaru had no argument against that statement. He was used to getting stares and giggles from ladies, but Mrs. Hinoshiza took it to a different level, making obscene innuendos that were just subtle enough that Hikaru couldn't outright call her on it.

When their water heater went out, which to be fair was a real complaint, he knocked on the door and Mrs. Hinoshiza answered it in nothing but a rather shear robe, playing coy, pretending that she didn't realize that Hikaru wouldn't be able to arrive that quickly. But that was just one incident and for a while Hikaru just thought it was a matter of circumstance until things like that would happen every time he was there alone.

"Are you okay with that?" she asked. Hikaru nodded and served himself another helping of rice and eggs.

"I'll go over there this afternoon."

"Good," she replied, standing up and taking her dishes to the sink and washing them quickly. After she was finished she grabbed her purse and turned to the young man.

"I'm going to work. When you're done could you please wash your dishes?" she asked, her eyes flitting down to his half-eaten seconds. "Try not to eat too much okay? I don't want to have to go to the grocers until the weekend."

At around noon, Hikaru packed the paint and supplies into the truck and drove it down the road to the Tanakas house. Technically, Hikaru was driving illegally, but if there was something that Mr. Musashibo allowed was him driving on his own. None of the locals minded, as Hikaru was good driver and it was necessary for his job.

He arrived at the Tanaka's house and rang the doorbell. He waited a little bit, but jumped when a purple-coated rider on a speed bike zoom passed on the road, creating a loud roar. Hikaru's eyes narrowed on the rider as he sped away, thinking it was strange. With the exception of summer breaks, the only hooliganism around town was created by rowdy sailors. Not hip speedsters. Perhaps the rider was visiting a friend or just enjoying the sea.

His train of thought was interrupted when the door opened.

"Oh! Hikaru. Thank you for coming," Mrs. Tanaka greeted. Hikaru shifted and bowed awkwardly in respect.

"Good afternoon. Sorry to have called on short notice," he said.

"Oh not a problem, the quicker it gets done the better," she replied. Mrs. Tanaka was a happy woman around thirty years of age. She was largely a housewife and her husband, Mr. Tanaka, was an accountant. The couple had a young five-year-old son, and Mrs. Tanaka was six months pregnant with their second child.

"I thought you and Ken were supposed to be out on that carrier."

Hikaru gave a small smile, "Yes, but I slept in and he asked me to start with the staining job while he was away."

Mrs. Tanaka laughed, "I suppose your misfortune is my fortune. Come."

She stepped outside to open the fence to their back yard.

"Is Seiji around?" he asked her to make polite conversation.

"He's taking a nap," she replied with a smile. "So he probably won't pester you for a while."

Hikaru was both relieved and a little disappointed. He liked little Seiji Tanaka even if he could only take him in small doses. Although the boy asked him endless questions about his features and where he came from, Seiji never really made him feel like a freak or an anomaly. Mrs. Tanaka gestured all along the fence, "Basically we need all of it painted. The sea air just ruined the regular home improvement paint."

"Yeah, you need a sealant too," Hikaru replied, crossing his arms. He spoke as if Mrs. Tanaka had any clue as to what he was saying. He stroked his whiskers and tried to make things clearer, "The moisture from the sea peels regular paint on outdoor objects. But a sealant prevents that."

Obviously Mrs. Tanaka wasn't interested in the science of paints and sealants. She just patted Hikaru's back with a small laugh, "I'll let you get at it then."

"Alright, thanks."

Hikaru set about painting the fence and chipping away dead flakes of the old paint job. He's done it times and times before and the Tanaka's fence wasn't large. It would take probably two days to finish completely. When he got about a fourth of the fence finished, he stood up, dropping the roller in the pan to massage his arms and wrists. Doing the same thing over and over for a long time caused a bit of strain.

As he stood he heard a familiar, patronizing voice call from the other side.

"Oh, Hikaru!"

He slowly closed his eyes in exasperation, but glanced over at the Hinoshiza yard, finding Mrs. Hinoshiza in a revealing tank top and shorts wearing sunglasses and holding a mixed alcoholic drink in her hand. Beside her was another woman of the same age, likely from the city. The two sauntered over and Hikaru swallowed feeling uncomfortable already, especially when he felt the two other women eyeing him like he eyes steak.

"Hikaru, I see you are painting the Tanaka's fence," Mrs. Hinoshiza said drawing closer to the fence. The other woman was biting her lip in amusement as she looked upon him, no doubt stricken with his blond whiskers, red, sunburned cheeks and blue eyes.

"Yes, ma'am. The old paint was chipping off."

Mrs. Hinoshiza turned to her friend, "This is the boy I was talking to you about."

"Indeeeeed."

Hikaru blanched a little.

"Hikaru, this is my dear friend Ms. Itazaki. Come to visit me from her extravagant life in the city."

"Pleasure," Hikaru said shortly, giving the other woman a curt nod. His gut was getting a little unsettled as he felt both ladies practically licking their chops.

Ms. Itazaki peered over her sunglasses, "Not so extravagant. I don't see nice strong young men working and breaking a sweat in the city. It is refreshing seeing a young man work to earn an actual keep."

Mrs. Hinoshiza playfully hit her friend, clicking her tongue, "She's just teasing Hikaru. She wouldn't leave the city for anything."

He averted his eyes, brow furrowing, cheeks flushing even more, subconsciously wiping his hands on his paint-stained cargo pants. He wished the women would leave him alone. He had work to do and he wouldn't want to insult Mrs. Tanaka by cavorting with her neighbors when he was on the job. That aside, he felt on display. As if he were some exotic animal and Mrs. Hinoshiza was showing him off to her guest. In some ways, Hikaru would have preferred that Mrs. Hinoshiza and Ms. Itazaki would just blatantly cat-call at him from their porch, as young college girls did on break after having a few. Then he could play it off. But, Mrs. Hinoshiza's intentions were still a mystery to him. Perhaps she just liked teasing him.

"So, Hikaru, do you have a girlfriend?" Ms. Itazaki asked.

It was a frequent question he got, and he answer was always the same, "No, ma'am."

One of the women clucked their tongue, as if the mere idea were some cosmic shame.

"I always find that hard to believe."

"A nice, strapping, virile young man like you should have all sorts of girls clamoring for your attention."

_It's not like I don't._ He realized his paint roller was getting dry and the paint in the pan was hardening. He really needed to start painting again, but it was just rude to flat ignore them. The sound of the back porch door sliding interrupted their "conversation." A small boy stepped outside and he closed the sliding door behind him.

"Hi, Hikaru!" Seiji Tanaka greeted.

"Good afternoon, Seiji." Hikaru was relieved. Seiji wouldn't drive the women away, but it was obvious that he was a good enough distraction that allowed Hikaru to continue working. As he bent down to resume painting the base of the fence, while Seiji greeted his neighbor and her friend. The two older women gave their attention to the little precocious boy, who asked non-stop questions about the city.

Mrs. Hinoshiza and Ms. Itazaki found that their glasses of mixed drinks were empty, which meant time to refill. The two finally left them alone to head inside.

"See you around Seiji," Mrs. Hinoshiza said before winking at Hikaru, "You too Hikaru."

Seiji waited for his neighbor enter her house before he said plainly, "I got rid of them for you."

Hikaru did a double take, staring down at the boy. Seiji Tanaka must be perceptive enough to know that he wasn't comfortable around Mrs. Hinoshiza, and Hikaru didn't know how to respond to the fact that he was saved by a five-year-old.

Still, Hikaru laughed aloud, "Thank you for saving me."

The boy sat down in the grass and began picking at the blades, "What are you doing?"

"Painting your fence."

"Why?"

"Because the paint was chipping off."

"Wouldn't it chip off again?"

"Not this time. At least not for a while."

"Why?"

And so began another sea of questions followed by the simplest of answers. As long as Seiji didn't try to paint or ruin the current paint job, Hikaru was fine entertaining the kid with answers. It at least made time and painting seem faster, and before long he thought to pack it in for the day. As Hikaru walked onto the back porch to report to Mrs. Tanaka, Seiji still bombarded him with innocent questions.

Hikaru didn't go home right away after his work with the Tanakas. He assumed Mrs. Musashibo was home, but rather than eating there, he decided to stop at a diner for dinner. After calling her of course. He wasn't sure why, but he thought, in his head, that the less he was heard or seen at that house the better it was for the Musashibos. But that apparently didn't stop Mrs. Musashibo from sounding moderately disappointed or worried when he called.

He sat alone in his booth at _Hamata's_, a local diner that seemed to specialize in a strange mixture Japanese classics and Western barbeque. The diner used to be a usual old rice and noodle shop, but after the owner Mr. Hamata spent a year in the United States, he decided to bring up a Western flair, after sampling food from Kansas City. The theme was rather bluesy with music by Nina Simone, B.B King, Rolling Stones, Stevie Ray Vaughn and other classic blues artists playing over the speakers.

Mr. Musashibo and his workers usually ate here for quick lunch breaks, and most of the clientele were sailors. The half Western flair even brought in some U.S officers every now and again. Of course they had their "Early Bird Special" for the older folks.

Now, as Hikaru sat, watching the sky darken to night, the place was fairly empty, except for two fishermen eating together in the far back corner and one tall gentleman at the counter.

He was rather odd. He wore dark pants and suit coat with a blue baseball hat. A rather mismatched fashion sense, Hikaru thought, even though he had no room to speak for himself. Regardless, Hikaru just spent the evening to himself, elbows propped up at the table rubbing his hands together and looking at the sky, almost as if he were expecting something to fall out. In a way, something did. He saw three shooting stars dart across the sky. It was a rather astonishing event, but the nights in the town, furthest away from the shipyard and port, were the clearest, they skies sparkling with stars.

"Here you go, Hikaru," Mrs. Hamata placed a plate of pork buns and a glass of water on the table in front of him.

He snapped out of his daze and pulled himself away to allow her to rest the plate in front of him, "Thank you."

"You're welcome," she said with a smile. "And we are playing your song for you. You hear?"

He tuned his ear to hear "Sinnerman" by Nina Simone playing astonishingly softly on the speakers of the diner.

"My song?" he asked.

"Mr. Musashibo said you bought an album of her music last month. You seem to be the only youngster to get a kick out of my husband's fascination with American blues."

That was true. He did buy _Pastel Blues_ with money he got from work. In some ways, "Sinnerman" seemed to be and odd expression of him. Desperation of someone who was lost and didn't know where to turn and even God had scorned him.

Leaving him lost to the world like he was.

He didn't know Mr. Musashibo knew about the CD. He mostly kept it in his room to listen on the stereo with headphones or took it alone with him when going on jobs by himself. He himself didn't think he had it around that much. It was just a CD.

He thanked Mrs. Hamata for the food and quietly went about eating his dinner, not paying much attention to "his" song. Nor did he notice the tall man glance over his shoulder, giving a good look with his golden eyes.

Amidst from the drone of the Hamatas talking together, and the fishermen quietly eating their meal and the blues music playing, Hikaru glanced up when the phone rang. Mr. Hamata stopped his rice rolling to answer. His brow furrowed as he glanced suspiciously at the tall poorly dressed mysterious man. He held out the receiver.

"Hey you," he called and the man's head lifted up. "Phone call for you."

The man silently stood from his stool and grabbed the receiver going to the very end of the counter, out of the way of prying ears.

Hikaru didn't want to be meddling, but the phone call seemed suspect. He couldn't see the man's face as most of it was hidden by the hat and for a moment, Hikaru could've sworn he saw the man look directly at him. The phone call was short apparently, as before long he handed the receiver to Mr. Hamata. The man adjusted his coat and pulled the bill of his cap down as he left the diner.

Hikaru tried to think nothing of it, but he at least felt relieved that the Hamatas held the same concern he did.

The very next day, Hikaru did the same thing, finishing up the Tanaka's fence, unmolested, no pun intended, by Mrs. Hinoshiza and Seiji was over at a friend's house. As such he got finished sooner. Instead of eating dinner at the diner like he did yesterday he drove home.

As he pulled up the driveway, he spotted a black car already parked in front of the house. It was unmarked, but by the plates it looked to be a government car. That wasn't a good sign. Hikaru stepped out of the truck and spotted two men speaking to Mrs. Musashibo at the door. Both were in uniforms.

The man speaking to her was around her age and stocky with black hair, wearing a coast guard's uniform. Hikaru recognized him as Captain Ryoshiki, the head of the local coast guard. He was a friend of the Musashibos, being a childhood friend of both Mr. and Mrs. Musashibo years and years back. The other man was obviously foreign, with graying hair, wearing a U.S Navy Admiral's uniform. Hikaru approached them and to his deep, deep, sadness, he saw Mrs. Musashibo's eyes widen. Next, her chin started quivering clearly shocked and upset.

It didn't take long for Hikaru to figure out what these two officials told her, and it made his heart pound and his blood run cold.

Hikaru raced to her as she collapsed in grief. He didn't second-guess his actions, not even in front of men from the coast guard and military. He embraced her, kneeling down with her as she clutched at his shirt weeping uncontrollably into his chest. There was no use in resisting the instinct to wrap his arms around her to keep her tight and comforted as he tried his best to be of any sort of comfort or relief.

It didn't matter if the officers stared on, watching with dread as the woman broke down. All that matters was that her husband, Ken Musashibo, and his crew had gone missing at sea.

And most if not all evidence showed that he lied eternally under those waves.

* * *

A/N: "Sinnerman" is on the late Nina Simone's _Pastel_ _Blues_ album. It is very much a soul song that is haunting and empowering to say the least. While 'Hikaru' isn't really a prime "sinner" depending on how you look at him, I thought the song was a good reflection of what he may have been going through.


	5. Chapter 4

**All usual disclaimers apply.**

**Sakura:**_ Sorry I couldn't reply, but yes. I had no intention of having who he really is be a mystery as I think its quite plain, with maybe a few physical alterations to show change, that he is the same character._ _But that's not the point of this story, its something entirely different. :)_

Chapter 4:

With such a small, close-knit community, the news and heartbreak about the sinking of the _Iruka_ and the deaths of its small crew spread quickly. Before anyone was prepared, a funeral was set at the small cemetery that had seen its fair share of lost sailors at sea.

Hikaru stood in his suit and tie next to Mrs. Musashibo who was silent through the whole ordeal. After she received the news that her husband was dead, she spent the next few hours crying. Hikaru didn't know what to do. He had never been in this situation before. It wasn't as if he didn't feel grief as well. Mr. Musashibo had been harsh with him, but he still allowed him to sleep under his roof and eat his food when Hikaru had nowhere else to go. He was as much as a parental figure to Hikaru as anyone else could be, as far as the town was concerned.

Even Hikaru couldn't grasp the depth of the heartbreak Mrs. Musashibo was experiencing. She had known the man all her life. She grew up with him, fell in love with him, married him, and even went through the pain of knowing they couldn't have children with him. They weren't a hot-and-heavy lovey-dovey couple, but concrete love was there that would last forever.

Yumiko Musashibo knew that fact from the moment Ken Musashibo approached her when they were just entering junior high, holding out a flower he found on the cliffside. He was frowning, embarrassed and had a bandage over the cut on his nose, but he still wanted to give her that flower. Thirty some years later and they were still very much in that state of youthful love.

And now he was gone. She didn't even stand to hear the priest give out the eulogies to the lost crew. She just stared at his picture that was rested over his family's marker. Along with Musashibo's name were the other names of his ancestors along with a small quote carved by his grandfather from _Moby-Dick_.

_"Delight is to him — a far, far upward, and inward delight — who against the proud gods and commodores of this earth, ever stands forth his own inexorable self."_

Hikaru stuck by the service, partially astonished at how many people showed to pay their respects and send prayers. The crew members must've been greatly loved. With a sigh he glanced up at the sky. It was overcast. How very appropriate. The cemetery was up on a cliff that visitors could see the sea. Since a few of those who "rested" in this place met their fate by the sea, it seemed an odd rub in the wound, but perhaps it was a waiting place. An area waiting for the souls of those lost to return to shore.

The sea was black as pitch this day.

_'And heaved and heaved, still unrestingly heaved the black sea, as if its vast tides were a conscience; and the great mundane soul were in anguish and remorse for the long sin and suffering it had bred.'_

There was something loved and hated about the sea. From literature like _Moby-Dick_ to the mindset of fishermen and sailors, these waters was like a monster or being of itself. Like a god sleeping.

Some god. Why would humans pray to any god that was fickle, that could help humans and then turn around and destroy them?

Hikaru blinked from his random thoughts, his head and chest pounding. He felt faint and hung on to Mrs. Musashibo, riding it off. When he felt normal again he gave Mrs. Musashibo an apologetic look, before focusing on the line of people set to give their prayers. He stood beside Mrs. Musashibo when she leaned down on her knees to give her silent prayers. He knew he should pray with her. Pray that Mr. Musashibo was free from pain. In all likelyhood, Mr. Musashibo didn't go pleasantly. Drowning or sinking at sea was a harrowing experience, but Hikaru hoped it was quick so that his suffering wasn't long.

The days following the funeral the Musashibo household was quiet. Mrs. Musashibo was withdrawn when she usually was talkative and tried to get Hikaru out of his shell. Hikaru was worried for her and the obvious question that was on their minds: What would happen to the business?

Mr. Musashibo was the business. Without him, not many people would want to cash in. It was possible they could sell for what little money to one of the more accomplished workers or to another contractor. That said, Mrs. Musashibo wasn't doomed. The insurance on Mr. Musashibo's life was enough to keep her comfortable. Insurance was insurance. It couldn't bring him back. It couldn't warm to cold side of their bed. It couldn't fill that empty seat at the dinner table.

Hikaru desperately tried to be of comfort, but he simply didn't know how. What could he say? He hadn't known them for very long, so what role could he play in holding the grief of the very small family? He was saddened and shocked as well with the death of his benefactor, but he was certain that the grief Mrs. Musashibo had far outweighed anything he possessed.

So the household, or what was left of it, was quiet. Hikaru did his best to maintain the schedule for all of Mr. Musashibo's appointments. That included the Kusanagi shrine. He didn't know what Mr. Musashibo had planned but at the most Hikaru thought to start with the hedges and bushes then move on to the relaying some of the shoddy stonework in front of the shrine. Fixing the leak could wait.

As he drove to the shrine only two days after the funeral, he held a deep concern in his chest. It was Mr. Musashibo's job to contract a few workmen and he had no idea of how to go about that. Hikaru determined that he had to do all the work himself. Which would mean it would take longer, especially coupled with a few other appointments.

He drove up and waited for someone to open the driveway fence, but no one came. Concerned and curious he stepped out of the truck and walked up the stone steps to the Kusanagi house. He _was _nervous. He had to take the lead and it would seem unprofessional if he had forgotten what all needed to be done. He couldn't hide the panic on his face as he knocked on their door.

He swallowed as Yui Kusanagi opened the door.

"Oh! Hello," she said with a mixture of surprise and concern. It was hard to distinguish if she could see the anguish on his face.

"I-uh. I'm here to start on the hedges and stone work. I just need someone to open the gate," his tone was quieter and softer than he had intended, and the perplexed look she gave didn't help.

"Hikaru," a deeper voice called from inside the house. Mr. Kusanagi had entered the entryway to see who knocked on the door. He at the very least looked shocked to see him, "I'm surprised to see you here."

"Did I come over on the wrong day?"

"No…" Mr. Kusanagi paused with a wary tone. "I just thought with what happened to Mr. Musashibo, that you'd want a little break."

Hikaru probably should've said something, but couldn't, even as the Kusanagis gave him a very apologetic look.

"I'm sorry to hear about what happened," the older man said. "He was a good hard working man."

"Yeah...yeah…he was…"

Yui saw grief and uncertainty in the young man, as he agreed with her father. It was like he was washed up on shore again with nowhere to turn. He hadn't been sleeping well and perhaps been a little more inwardly drawn than when she first met him.

"So I'll go and open the gate for you," Mr. Kusanagi said, walking out with the young man.

Mr. Kusanagi opened the gate and Hikaru didn't say much else but to answer a few of his queries. He went about working as best as he could, but it was tough to say he was concentrating. It was like the past few days were all a dream and no matter how fast or slow Hikaru went about his daily life it wouldn't change anything. Subconsciously he wished he were dreaming. He daydreamed a lot and when he worked on his own that was when he submitted to his wandering mind. But now it was all blank. Just watching the leaves and twigs fall as he sheared them off the hedges, the stones upturn as he pried them off the ground, was all he could muster the mental imagination to accomplish.

Inside, Yui finished sweeping the kendo practice area. Her head was drawn to Hikaru who was working hard and silent. He seemed incredibly lonely. He was awkward with Mr. Musashibo, but at the very least he seemed to be a little more engaged. Now…

Mostly she was surprised he was taking on a large task by himself. To her, although they were probably of a similar age range, he was just a kid. There was no way he could think and coordinate all the work to be done by himself. But what did she know about contracting?

"Uh-oh, what are you staring at baby sister?" Manabu teased, catching her staring at Hikaru. "Could it be that sweating foreigner out there?"

"It's not what you think."

"Sure it is. I'm at least proud," he smiled, taking a small bite of his popsicle. "At least now I know you have hormones. I was beginning to worry you didn't like guys that way."

"Gosh! Go and do your chores!" she growled holding up her broom, threatening to whack him if he didn't shut up. Manabu laughed and covered his head before running past her.

Hikaru didn't get nearly as much done as he wanted. The hedges were trimmed and cut, but he was only halfway through lifting the old stones. He'd have to finish tomorrow and place the new ones in. And that was much more work than trimming a few hedges.

He quickly apologized to Mr. Kusanagi, "Please excuse me. This will all take longer than expected. I can give you a discount from the original quota for all the trouble."

The notion astonished the older man. So what if it would take longer? As long as he did a good job it was fine.

"No don't do that Hikaru. I don't know what your financial situation is but I am not going to take a discount. Take as long as you need."

The young man seemed upset that he had underestimated the time it would take, and stressing him out even further was not something Mr. Kusanagi wanted to do.

"But—"

"No, 'buts'. Trust me it would be easier for all of us."

Hikaru couldn't understand how, but before he could rebut him, Mr. Kusanagi walked away. Silently, Hikaru began putting away his equipment and things. He shoed away two black ravens that were perched on the hood of his truck before climbing in, placing his work gloves in the backseat. He turned to start the engine but stopped as something caught his eye. The newspaper that Mr. Musashibo had checked the weather report with before he left was lying there, untouched since the deceased man threw it in the back of the truck.

Hikaru grabbed the paper, remembering Mr. Musashibo had said that the weather was supposed to be clear. As he flipped through the paper, something didn't seem right. The reports showed that Mr. Musashibo had been correct and then some. There were no storms in the area all week. So how could the ship have encountered bad weather?

It was possible that an unexpected storm just cropped up. Weather forecasts weren't perfect.

His rather troubled thoughts were interrupted as he heard a knock at his window. Mr. Kusanagi waved for him to roll down the window.

"Yes, sir?" Hikaru asked.

"You are having dinner with us."

Hikaru was blown away by the statement, "Sir?"

"Well you won't get back until late anyway so it wouldn't make sense to keep Yumiko waiting. My wife insisted."

He wasn't convinced. He was a worker and a stranger to them. Although they were being polite as any nice family would, going to such lengths as to invite him for a meal was practically unbelievable.

The Kusanagis obviously felt differently. Mr. Kusanagi had known Mr. Musashibo as a good acquaintance and the two on occasion would get drinks together if Musashibo was in town. Plus, it wasn't like Hikaru was totally independent. He was still very young. It was the responsibility of an adult to ensure the safety of a kid. Mr. Kusanagi was waving him out, like he was trying to get a particularly bothersome child out of hiding. All Hikaru wanted to do was go home. Mrs. Musashibo shouldn't be alone.

It was like Mr. Kusanagi could read his thoughts. "I called Yumiko and she's visiting friends right now. No one should be alone at times like this."

Hikaru heaved in a breath and opened the car door, following Mr. Kusanagi inside his home.

It wasn't Mr. Kusanagi's idea to have Hikaru over for dinner. Mrs. Kusanagi heard of the tragedy of the Musashibos and made the suggestion. His daughter also agreed, inciting some teasing from her older brother. Still, it didn't take Mr. Kusanagi a lot of thought to agree with them.

Hikaru was stiff as he entered their home, even after he removed his work boots. He felt particularly tight and out of place. He didn't know exactly where to sit or stand. The youngest Kusanagi son was in the sitting room watching the news and the older son sat at the table with his girlfriend that he invited over for the day. Yui entered the kitchen after just changing into casual clothes.

And here was Hikaru, feeling like the elephant in the room. Here he was wearing his black beanie, his stained and dirty baggy jeans, and sleeveless shirt, where everyone else was wearing nice casual clothes. He was taller and bigger than everyone in the room, and they were all so clean cut, compared to his hidden mane, and scraggly immature whiskers, and sweat-stained arm pits. He felt like a disgusting giant.

He turned to Mrs. Kusanagi and asked, "May I use the washroom?"

"Yes, second door to the left."

Once he was in the bathroom he sucked in a breath, not realizing that he couldn't breathe out in the dining area. He ran the tap of the sink, sprinkling water over his face and under his arms, as if that would help. He at least felt cleaner than before.

He quietly sat down at the dinner table leaning forward against it, feeling restless. He shyly removed his hat acknowledging manners, feeling the eyes fall on him and his mane of blond hair. Immediately he stiffened, not liking the looks. Yes he looked different, that shouldn't be new news.

"That's quite some hair you got there, Hikaru," Mr. Kusanagi mentioned. At least he addressed what they were staring at.

"Yeah," he said distantly, not making eye contact with anyone. "It grows quite fast."

The family began filing in for dinner as Mrs. Kusanagi laid down the dishes. Everyone was getting ready to eat, except Manabu who was still watching TV. Actually, he was playing on his phone, but the television was on showing news footage of the open sea behind the anchors with a tagline that read: _Search still ongoing for missing US carrier._

"….authorities have not indicated any progress in the search for the _USS Nathaniel Greene. _The United States carrier went missing just off shore two days ago after several attempts by the United States Navy and the Coast Guard of Japan to radio them brought back no response. A quick search revealed that the ship was not where the last reported coordinates were. Nor was it anywhere to be seen by GPS or satellites. The Coast Guard claims that it was possible high winds and storms may have caused damage to the ship that couldn't be repaired fast enough…"

Mr. Kusanagi saw that Hikaru was paying close attention to the news broadcast. No doubt the news broadcast about a missing carrier that was related to the demise of Mr. Musashibo upset him. He told his son in the living room, "Manabu, turn that off, and eat your dinner."

Manabu obeyed and sat next to his mother. Hikaru hadn't realized they were all eating already and he had nothing on his plate. His thoughts, though, were on the broadcast.

High winds and storms? On a carrier that size? There was no way it could do that much damage. Carriers were big and could handle high waves brought on by storms. It had to have been a freak storm if it was damaged so much that it just sank out of nowhere. And if it was a freak storm that close to shore, Japan would know it. Tsunami and flood warnings would be everywhere. Something didn't sit right in his gut.

Mrs. Kusanagi noticed that he wasn't eating. He didn't even have anything put on his plate. He just sat, his arms on either side of his place-setting, staring down lost completely in his thoughts.

"Hikaru? You can help yourself…"

He noticed the family eating happily, Mrs. Kusanagi and Yui looking at him with concern. He sucked in a breath and suddenly he couldn't breathe. His mind was frantic and he soon realized he couldn't stay. He had to—

He stood up, putting his hat on, stumbling over his apologies, "I-I'm sorry I can't stay."

He turned to leave but stopped himself and bowed hurriedly, "Erm-uh….thank you for the meal."

"Wait Hikaru!"

He didn't stop as he heard Yui call him. He grabbed his boots and ran out the door, knowing full well that he was being rude.

After he left and moment of silence around the Kusanagi table, Jun commented, "That was weird."

"That kid is weird," Manabu said.

Mr. Kusanagi shook his head, "I told you to turn off that TV."

"And I did, what's the big deal!?"

Mr. Kusanagi was losing his patience, "His guardian was killed in the storm related to the disappearance of that carrier. And you had let that thing run…"

"Okay, okay," Mrs. Kusanagi said softly, trying to calm the two down. Eventually the table was settled and the family could resume eating. Yui on the other hand ate slower than she usually did. When Hikaru left, his face was a ghostly white, and he was clearly upset. Maybe her father was right about the broadcast triggering his nerves. It didn't help that he got odd stares from his brothers and brother's girlfriend. And probably pushing him to have dinner with strangers wasn't a good idea.

* * *

As Hikaru drove, he felt his breathing even, but his thoughts were on that carrier. The same carrier Mr. Musashibo was supposed to deliver supplies to. A part of his mind was on the dream the night before he was to set out. The clashing and screaming and the dark skies. Was that an omen? He shook his head. Omens didn't exist and he sure as hell couldn't predict the future. If he did, he was responsible for Mr. Musashibo's death. But something tangible caused his death, and deep, deep in his gut he knew it couldn't be just some storm.

He feared, above all, that it was an attack from some foreign country. Russia, North Korea, China, whomever. At the same time, if that were a possibility, no doubt the US would mobilize to make whoever attacked them pay.

As he drove in the darkness along the cliffs he could see the lights of the coast guard station. Biting his lip, instead of taking the second exit to town, he took the first down to the station.

* * *

In town, Mrs. Musashibo was thankfully being comforted by friends. With Hikaru at work, she liked being around friends. It was hard being alone in a quiet house knowing full well that her husband wasn't ever coming through that door.

She sat drinking tea while her friends tried to make idle conversation. That comfort however was interrupted when she received a phone-call. Her two friends could see the concern on her face as she frantically answered, "Yes I will be there."

Quickly she grabbed her jacket and the keys to her car.

"Yumiko, what's wrong?"

"That was the Coast Guard. Hikaru's been arrested." With that she left her house.

Mrs. Musashibo rushed into the Coast Guard station and as soon as she arrived at the front desk the receptionist called over Captain Ryoshiki. The captain being a close friend of hers, was quite calm and understanding as he led her to where Hikaru was being held.

"Yumiko, I'm sorry to have to call you here, but he has no other guardians and it seems he's a minor. I didn't know what else to do."

"What happened?"

The captain shrugged his strong shoulders, "They caught him trespassing. He was in the radio room, which to be honest isn't something people trespass here for. Graffiti is the only major problem with kids his age."

The captain led her to a holding room that looked like an interrogation room with a glass window panel. There was Hikaru, sitting with his head down on the table, handcuffs on his wrists. As he leaned back, she could see a nasty red welt on the bridge of his nose. It looked like he got into a fistfight.

"We apologize. With his size, officers who caught him didn't think he was a kid, and he wasn't exactly forth coming."

Mrs. Musashibo stared on, saddened, enraged, disappointed and relieved. Hikaru looked exhausted and upset. She had an idea of why he was here. And the thought brought on a headache.

"I haven't charged him, so he's just detained. He's got no other kin, but he said to call you since there's no other guardian-"

"I'm his guardian," she said resolutely, without hesitation. She didn't even think twice. Claiming guardianship upon Hikaru made her somewhat responsible for his actions. Realizing that, she bowed in apology, "I'm so sorry for all the trouble, Kishio."

Captain Ryoshiki shook his head, "Don't apologize, Yumiko. I believe you've done enough for him."

There was some spite in his voice. Not a lot, but enough to make Mrs. Musashibo cringe. That and seeing Hikaru with a busted nose and bruising starting to form near his eye, she didn't know who to be more apologetic to.

Opening the holding room door, Captain Ryoshiki approached Hikaru, "Someone's here to pick you up."

He undid his handcuffs and led him out where Hikaru had to face the shamed face of Mrs. Musashibo. He had to have known that she would disapprove, but looking at her distinct expression as if he failed her made his heart sink. He hadn't meant or thought to hurt her, but it was quite plain that she was. As such, he found himself avoiding eye contact with her, even as Captain Ryoshiki spoke, "Don't worry about anything Yumiko. He's free to go."

"Thank you, Kishio. I appreciate it," she bowed again. Captain Ryoshiki forcefully gripped the back of Hikaru's neck, forcing him to look him in the eye. "Now you stay out of trouble, you hear? I don't want to find you causing anymore headaches."

Hikaru paused, his jaw muscle quivering but he nodded, "Yessir."

"Good. Now go on your way," the captain turned to Mrs. Musashibo. "We'll tow the truck over to your place tomorrow morning."

The car ride back home was silent and tense. Hikaru knew Mrs. Musashibo was angry with him and he couldn't blame her. Then he had to ask himself why he did what he did knowing full well it would just cause trouble. Up till now he devoted himself in not being a bother. All that didn't matter when he found something in that radio station.

Ships don't disappear out of nowhere. Radio signals are sent from ships radios all the time, indicating to a coast guard or to another ship where they are located and what they are doing. Especially military ships.

He sifted through the radio files and reports, most of the evidence was else where, but he found a frequency that he knew full fact was a distress signal. The distress signal wasn't from the carrier but from a smaller boat. To Hikaru that had to be Mr. Musashibo's boat. He couldn't gather anything else as the patrol came in and caught him, but regardless the signal when it was issued was cut off.

Something bad happened and it wasn't a storm. And Mrs. Musashibo had a right to know what happened to her husband.

"I know what I did was wrong," Hikaru said after several painful minutes of silence.

"To right it was," Mrs. Musashibo said through her teeth.

"But I found something there. I knew something was off about Mr. Musashibo's boat. There was a distress signal and the coast guard's playing it off as if it never happened-"

"Hikaru," she interrupted probably the most vocal expression Hikaru ever uttered in one go, her eyes never leaving the night road. "At this moment I don't care. I really don't care. Dammit Hikaru! Of all the things—"

She silenced herself not even regarding his face as he gazed at her, his eyes filled with his own disappointment. He hadn't meant to do wrong by her. That was the last thing he wanted. But he was stupid, like Mr. Musashibo said. He turned back to his window, watching the lights of the various pub and hotel signs fly by.

"Is your nose bad?" she asked sternly. He shook his head.

"It could've been worse, but for godssakes I don't ever want to see you near the coast guard station again. I can't very well ground you because of work, but after work, you are to come right home from now on. Do you understand?"

Hikaru could only nod. He understood quite clearly, though what he had found weighed heavily on his mind. And the fact that a family friend was hiding something made it even worse.

* * *

A/N: Read and Review if you please. Tell me what you think.


	6. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own KnA.

Small warning for inappropriate touching and cursing, but nothing explicit. If you don't like to see that stuff in T-rated stories then skip it.

Chapter 5:

For the next day, Hikaru kept his head down. He was back to being big inconspicuous Hikaru to Mrs. Musashibo. But the gnawing feeling in his gut wasn't any better when he researched the weather and storm and current patterns of the day of Mr. Musashibo at the computer in the local library. When the truck was towed back to their driveway, Mrs. Musashibo forbade Hikaru from driving it unless he was working, so he had no choice but to walk to the library. Some townspeople knew him as he stepped in, most curious and a bit glad that someone supposedly as dumb and unskilled as he was putting forth the effort to taking advantage of a learning tool. The head librarian was a bit dismayed that he went to the computer and used it for research, hovering over him every once in a while to check on what he was looking at.

To his dismay all final reports of weather proved to be the same. Clear, currents on track. It hadn't rained. It hadn't stormed. Just as he thought. So the storm idea was a lie. A bold faced lie to appease the public while the U.S military figured out what the next move was. Usually they are quick to bust a move if they were attacked. So it was apparent that the U.S. military was still finding the disappearance of their carrier a mystery.

He decided to crosscheck the information with some actual books, especially current charts, which was in a reference room in the far back of the library. There were no windows in the room and the lights seemed to be off. The only light was from a desk lamp where a man with white hair was reading. Hikaru didn't pay much attention to him and sifted through maritime cartography books and current charts.

"What _arrre_ you looking for?" the annoyed voice of the man at the desk interrupted the silence. Hikaru looked back at the man and even though he had white hair, his face was rather young. His skin was dark, wore a black and gold jacket and spectacles on his nose, covering his vivid blue eyes. Beside him, sitting on the floor next to his chair was a black dog. A rather thin but big black dog. Greyhound-like if it wasn't for the perched ears. He was silent, patient, staring right at Hikaru with wide defensive eyes.

To Hikaru the man was peculiar looking, obviously not Japanese. It wasn't unheard of for foreigners to spend a day or two at port, but he just didn't look like a fisherman or a shipper. Especially since it was clear he was a reader with a stack of books on the desk and a notebook perched on his knee. He could've been a tourist, even if this particular port town wasn't exactly thriving with tourists wanting a seaside resort.

"Current flow," Hikaru answered.

The man sighed sounding exasperated as if Hikaru were trying to fit a square block in a round hole, "Why?"

Hikaru couldn't think of any answer other than the truth, "I guess gaining more information on a ship disappearance."

The man stopped scratching in his notebook, his blue eyes narrowing, "The _Nathaniel Greene_?"

Hikaru shrugged his shoulders, "Something related, yes."

"Wasn't it a storm?"

Hikaru mentally sighed, "That's what they say yes."

"You don't believe them?"

"I do not."

"So you're an expert then," the man shifted back in his seat, the small light causing the man's shadow against the brown wall to be tall and thin, like a bird. A thin, crane-like bird.

"No. I just don't think it was a storm."

The dog snorted lightly. "You are still an idiot. Still no brains behind that good-looking face," the man fiddled with his notebook, clicking the pen in his hand. "It was definitely a storm. A storm of some kind. An unusual storm of epic proportions but definitely a storm."

Hikaru frowned at the man. He knew he was stupid, but he didn't need someone he didn't know calling him that, "Just as well, I'll still look at the charts."

Giving a short click between his teeth, the man sighed, before pulling a book from his stack. "Then here." He handed him the moldy dusty book with faded gold letters on the side that read: _Carta Marina, Olus Magnus_. Hikaru opened the book and found brown colored pages with lines and outlines drawn in faded red and blue of incorrectly measured countries. The cartographer must've made up several countries and how they were shaped. To him, it seemed Japan barely existed. In what was the oceans were several detailed intricate drawings of sea creatures. Monstrous sea creatures that were malformed and misshapen composites of random things seeming made out of pure fantasy than rather an attempt to create a scientific experience. Regardless, the artist or cartographer seemed to really pay close attention and care to those sea monsters.

"This won't help me."

The man crossed his arms over his chest, "Of course it will."

"It's just a bunch of monsters some wannabe put on scribblings of lines and called it a map."

"It is a map," the spectacled dark-skinned man argued. "A map of the things people fear most."

"So nightmares? Fantasies? These things don't exist."

Another sigh, "Boy did I misjudge your stupidity. No, airhead, of course they exist. Folk don't have that great of an imagination to just make these things up at the fly. You just haven't seen these things because they can't come out of hiding. At least they haven't been able to for a while."

Mrs. Musashibo told Hikaru once that whenever he was upset but unsure of why, his mouth was quirked in a half snarl, his right eye squinting lightly, nose wrinkling. It was an involuntary action, but now he physically felt himself pull up that half snarl. Snarling at people or looking down upon them wasn't his thing, but something about this…birdman and his dog upset him. More than likely it was his overly familiar tone.

Hikaru handed the book back, "Thanks, but I'll do my own research."

The man cleared his throat and at the same time the dog put his head down on the floor with a high-pitched whine, "Unfortunately, I cannot force you to do anything even if I really, really wanted to. Suit yourself then."

For a moment the man sounded disappointed and Hikaru didn't much care, he just grabbed a book of current charts—not sure if they were the ones he was looking for—and set out to find another place to research. Nothing he found changed his mind. He still felt deep in the back of his head there was something more to the disappearance of the _Nathaniel Greene_ and Mr. Musashibo.

By the time he left the library, his nose was looking worse. Mrs. Musashibo examined it and determined it wasn't broken, just a bit bruised. His eye looked horrendous. It looked like he got suckered in the eye at a fight. It was only half true. When patrol found him he immediately tried to run. The two guys immediately resolved to use as much force as they could one of them cursing quite loud, "Fuck, you're a big guy for a kid."

During the scuffle, one of the guards tried to pin him to the wall but missed, knocking Hikaru's nose with his elbow. More cursing and profuse apologies before they reverted back to considering him as a common teenaged thug.

Needless to say Hikaru's week wasn't the greatest. He had to go back and face the Kusanagi's after disrupting their dinner they so kindly invited him to. Mr. Kusanagi made no mention of it as he answered the door.

"I have to go into town for a bit, but Yui will be around to help you with anything you need. Alright?"

Mr. Kusanagi didn't seem displeased or pleased to see him and Hikaru didn't dare make a fuss. He just worked finally fixing that leak, and replacing the stones.

Yui was a little relieved to see Hikaru back in spite of that horrible dinner. This time, wearing a plaid shirt with the sleeves rolled up over his forearms and green-tan slacks with his usual steel-toed boots. Then she noticed a big bruise on the bridge of his nose and on the inside of his eye. Had he gotten into a fight? Somehow, she couldn't imagine someone like him who didn't seem like he's purposely hurt someone, get into an actual fistfight. Or if he did, she didn't think he'd lose.

He looked depressed and upset as his face was set in a frown. Her father couldn't have given him a tongue lashing after his rather abrupt departure the other night. After all that he was still defending Hikaru. So did she, knowing he was still a good kid, incidental rudeness aside.

She went up to say hi. He greeted back, though very dull. He wouldn't meet her face. He just stood with a rake in his hands.

"What happened to your eye?" she asked. Hikaru touched the bridge of his nose feeling the sting still. He could also feel the stretch across his eye of the bruised skin.

He frowned, "An accident."

"A fight?" Yui's tone dipped lower knowingly.

Hikaru was caught. While he didn't get into a fight per se, he couldn't very well tell her that he had gotten arrested for trespassing onto government property. That would just make him sound even more like an idiot.

"It was just a bad day," he replied. "I apologize about last time. It was rude of me to walk out of a dinner like that. I'm surprised your father still wants me to work for him."

Yui laughed a little, "My father likes you, you know."

Hikaru's eyebrows shot up in surprise. Yui nodded, "Yeah, he likes that you work hard, at least in comparison to my brothers."

They pitied him, he could tell. Was it so wrong to be pitied? It was one thing if he felt he was a better, more capable person, but since he felt insecure and useless, being pitied didn't bother him much.

Yui sighed to herself and suggested, "You can make it up to him. Some of the local shrines are sponsoring the Suigo Festival tomorrow night in town, we'd appreciate if you could come."

Hikaru thought for a moment. He'd have to run it by Ms. Musashibo first, but then…

He stared at Yui's kimono. Would he have to wear one? He didn't own any kimonos. Not many people did in the town he lived in. They obviously had ceremonial kimonos but given the climate, they weren't rather practical. Regardless, could he even find a kimono his size?

"Is it formal?" he asked.

Yui glanced where he was staring, realizing he meant wearing a kimono. She shook her head, "Oh no. There will be plenty of people wearing kimono, as well as normal clothes. I myself may go in casual, since I'm in uniform all day."

Hikaru nodded, "I'll have to ask Mrs. Musashibo, but I can try to go."

"Good," Yui reflexively gave him a friendly hit in the back. It was only as she got into the house when she started questioning why she did that.

Hikaru finished up and left, saying farewell to Yui, leaving her alone. She busied herself in scrubbing the mats on the kendo floor, a little unnerved at all the silence. Usually her household was busy with brothers, brothers' friends and girlfriends, mother and father, going in and out, but Yui couldn't deny a little bit of pleasure in having the house to herself for once.

Yui turned abruptly as the silence was interrupted by three knocks. Three knocks exactly, perfectly timed and spaced in between each other. By the way the knocks pounded at the wood of her door it was a very very large hand.

She answered her door and was greeted by a wall of black. She had no choice but to look up. In front of her was a man, the biggest tallest man she had ever seen. He was so large that the top of her doorway only reached his chin. This man, whoever he was, wore a dark black suit that shimmered like raven's feathers in the sunlight. His long equally rich black hair was tied back and his black beard was finely trimmed. Over his eyes were sunglasses.

"C-can I help you?" she asked, not really believing that this man truly existed.

The man brought up his hand that held a long thin white pipe. He took a moment to prod tobacco into the bowl with his pinky finger, the only finger that could possibly fit that hole. On that pinky was a large signet ring in the shape of a tree, its roots wrapping eternally around his finger, holding it firm on his hand.

"Perhaps," his voice was low and booming and was thick with some sort of accent that seemed akin to Hikaru's.

"Has there been a boy working here? He's got blond hair, blue eyes, can't stand on his two feet even if his life depended on it?"

Obviously she answered with the closest person she could think, "There is a boy by the name of Hikaru who does odd jobs for us, but he left a while ago. Can I take a message?"

The man's great chest expanded as he sighed, he lifted up his sunglasses and if it were possible, Yui was even more stricken with fear. One eye was brightest, iciest blue she had ever seen. Her whole body seemed cold just looking at it. The other was shut tight, a darkened red mass of old scar tissue wrapping and spreading around in no certain pattern that Yui was able to discern what kind of damage was done.

He scrutinized her, a daunting experience.

"No, that is fine," he grumbled, taking a puff of his pipe. His eye wandered up at her building. "This is a shrine, yes?"

Yui nodded.

"To whom?"

"To no one specifically," Yui answered. "People pray to whomever god they want to. Or to all the gods at once."

The man chuckled, "How very egalitarian. No god is going to get their feelings hurt here."

Yui's brow arched. A shrine was a shrine. Hers wasn't the only shrine that didn't have a patron attached to it.

"Is there something you need, Mister…um…?"

He took a puff out of his pipe again, "Call me Wotan."

"Mr. Wotan."

"I guess I could take a look at your shrine. I would like to speak to a few gods in particular."

Yui paused. Did he want her to lead him to the shrine? It was just up the steps. "I would ask that you didn't smoke there please."

Mr. Wotan went silent, eye staring directly through her. He pulled the tip of the pipe out of his mouth, and rudely blew the smoke into her face, but strangely the smoke smelled sweet and a little salty. Slowly, he took his pinky and pressed it into the bowl of his pipe, extinguishing the embers, reaching over and dropping the ashes on the flowerbed by the steps to the house. Those flowers stood up straight and strong.

"Are you the shrine maiden?" he asked.

"No…well not really."

"A priestess then."

"Gosh no. I just take care of the shrine."

His eyes narrowed as if he were a little disappointed, like he expected something greater from her. She was just a shrine keeper. Regardless she held pride in her job. A strong wrinkle cut a line into his beard as he gave a wolfish grin, showing impressive incisors. He reached over with his great hand and gently patted her head, almost affectionately.

"Then take me to the shrine, caretaker."

She led him up the steps and pointed to the small shrine. To her it wasn't small, but considering this man towered the very building, she amended that reality. To him it was just a house for a minor spirit.

Yui sat back behind and watched him as he approached the shrine. He stood for several minutes in silence. Perhaps he was really talking to some spirits or gods. Two dark ravens landed on top of the shrine and stood walking a little on the ledge, heads bobbing with each movement.

Mr. Wotan brought his hands out, finishing his talk or prayer with a traditional clap, his hands sounding like iron as he brought them together.

"Yui, I'm back!" She turned to find her brother running up the steps with a bag of groceries. "What's up?"

She turned to glance at the shrine about to point, telling him about the man in prayer. But he was gone with no sign of where he went. Only those two ravens still stood perched like newly minted gargoyles.

-0000000-

If Hikaru thought his day was going to get any better, he was wrong. On the way back from the Kusanagis he got a phone call from Mrs. Hinoshiza about a pump not working. He could gather the specifics and figured he'd find out when he got to her house. It wasn't necessarily a day ruiner going to Mrs. Hinoshiza's house. He was uncomfortable there, sure.

It wasn't until he got to the house and spoke to her that he realized something was going very wrong.

For once, at least, she was dressed decently; a simple blouse and a skirt. Her eyes however were glazed over, unfocused. And as she spoke, he could smell the pungent and fruity taste of mix drinks.

"I'm glad you're here," she said a decibel louder than necessary. "I think the pump for the basement bathroom isn't working. We haven't used it recently, but my husband ran the sink yesterday and it just sputtered. It didn't go off."

"Alright," Hikaru took his toolbox and headed down into the basement, tested the sink, and then flushed the toilet. The toilet ran, but stopped abruptly. She was right. The pump wasn't working. He headed back into the furnace room, hoping he could at least fix it.

When things went downhill was around the time he pried open the pump. Two hands wove under his arms resting on his chest, the fingertips digging in hard as if to test the hardness of his chest. A warm body pressed behind him, he could feel lips pressing against his back.

It was an odd disturbing feeling and he quickly turned around. Mrs. Hinoshiza's grip was still on him, at his sides. He braced himself against the casing that held the pump. He could smell the alcohol on her breath even more.

"Mrs. Hinoshiza," he cleared his throat, his chest tight, nervous and itching to leave even though he hadn't fixed the pump.

"Stay there," she said. "I'm so glad you're here."

Her voice was soft. It wasn't seductive as it usually was. Her expression was desperate, not sultry, but everything about her touch on him he would've associated with that flirtatious version of her.

"Are you drunk?" Hikaru was so bold to ask. He wouldn't have asked though, if he wasn't dead on sure. His spine shuddered as her hands ran up his chest to cup his neck gently.

"How old are you?" she slurred.

"Sixteen." It was a lie. Sort of. Hikaru didn't know how old he was, but it was anyone's guess. Mrs. Hinoshiza purred deep in her throat.

"You're at that time when you look either really young or really old," she threw her head back and laughed. "By old I mean late twenties. But I remember you when they first brought you here. You weren't too bad then, perhaps a little slender. But you were such a nice boy. You still are."

Hikaru sucked in a breath as she pressed her lips to his fiercely. He didn't pull away; he couldn't taste anything. It wasn't the kissing he was worried about, though he was certain it was in fact his first kiss. She was pressing herself against him and the warmth pulled on some really strange sensations. A tingle here, a jolt there. He didn't dislike it, but he couldn't convince himself that he liked it either.

Mrs. Hinoshiza thankfully pulled away, her thumbs on his cheeks, caressing the whiskers. Her eyes were full of tears, "You're so handsome, so kind, but I can tell you are a virgin. What a strange world we live in that someone like you cannot find a lover, but dirty old men like Mr. Hinoshiza can gather many."

Hikaru ignored her advances for the moment. He understood what was going on. At least he thought he did. By the way that Mrs. Hinoshiza said her husband's name—"Mr. Hinoshiza"—there was a distance, an unfamiliarity, as if the woman did not even know who her husband was. For a moment, Mrs. Hinoshiza's dark eyes watered bright emerald green and Hikaru hoped it was his fogged mind—and his fogged body. She placed a soft kiss against his neck and Hikaru swallowed hard.

He supposed he felt bad for Mrs. Hinoshiza. That her husband was doing bad things, but he thought, with how self-confident she was, it wasn't like her to let that bother her, let alone take it out him.

"O bright one," she whispered against his skin like a surreal prayer. "You have grown so. So big." Her hands wandered over his chest down his stomach, ghosting over his crotch, "So large." Her hand closed around him, through his clothes squeezing gently. "But still so gentle as when you were a little boy. I wish I could take you away."

Hikaru coughed and gasped not hearing her last phrase, feeling a strange impulsive urge overcome his brain, though rather fleeting. Whatever urge he wanted to accomplish was washed away by sensibility as he used his arms to push Mrs. Hinoshiza away.

"Mrs. Hinoshiza, please stop," his said, but his voice was gentler than he wanted, his body still tingling. He realized the area around him and her was so cold and chilly. "Please, have a lie down. You do not know what you are doing."

A part of his mind he didn't like urged him to shut it, to let Mrs. Hinoshiza continue with whatever her drunken mind desired. He didn't know what would happen, but why not explore. Fortunately for Hikaru, he thought better.

She sighed, frustrated, "I know what I want and what I desire, but I do know what I must do."

He flinched when she cupped his cheek again affectionately, but she didn't touch him anywhere else.

"Take my advice, Hikaru. Run far from this place as possible. Far, far away. For your own good."

She left, presumably falling fast, fast asleep on her bed to sleep the alcohol off. Hikaru fixed the pump and didn't stay for the bill.

On the way back home, he called Mrs. Musashibo to ask if she wanted anything at the store while he was out and about, the encounter with Mrs. Hinoshiza still in his mind. He was upset, but he was certain once she came to she'd feel even worse. Mrs. Musashibo didn't answer so Hikaru stopped at the grocer's to pick up some rice and strawberries and went to the malt diner next door for a nice soothing drink. Or two.

He ordered a soda and sat at a booth, trying for Mrs. Musashibo again. He almost finished dialing her number when a shadow loomed over him and the seat across from him was quickly occupied by a figure that seemed only half real. He was the biggest man he had ever seen, even though he was sitting. He was obviously foreign. He wore a plaid jacket with a gray hood over his head. He had a gray, black beard with beads interwoven in them. His face was craggily and tan and his eye was bright blue that chilled Hikaru to the bone as if it was made of ice. The other thankfully was closed tight under a mess of scars.

"I'm sorry to hear about your boss," he said striking Hikaru back. His voice was deep with a thick accent that Hikaru couldn't quite pin point.

"I…I don't know you," Hikaru replied eyeing the old man. He could've been a sailor who knew Mr. Musashibo. A worker or something. If that was the case he may have known Mr. Musashibo.

"I know you. Though that name you go by is quite interesting," the old man's voice graveled. "Hikaru. 'Light' is it?"

"How do you know my name?" Hikaru asked. The diner seemed a lull, not a one taking a second look at them. But here was a stranger larger than life, just taking a seat as if he owned the place.

The man's eye stared directly at him and wouldn't leave. It pinned Hikaru to his seat, terrified what may happen if he dared try to leave that gaze. He pulled up a massive hand holding a long thin pipe between his the crux of his thumb and forefinger. He took a quick puff from the thin end and exhaled slowly, the smoke lazily flowing like clouds from his mouth and nose. Hikaru glanced behind him on the door spotting the "No Smoking" sign, but no one seemed to care.

"I want you to come with me," the old man said, tapping his thumb on the counter, as he drew his pipe away, his tree signet ring glistening threateningly on his hand.

"You're kidding," Hikaru said, bristling. The one eye blinked, his thick black eyebrow arching. "Why would I go with a stranger?"

"Stranger?" the man laughed showing large white incisors. "Everyone you ever met is a stranger. That's how relationships start. When you come into this world, you are a stranger to your mother, and your mother is a stranger to you."

"That's different—"

"How? Mrs. Musashibo didn't know you but she took you in. My proposition isn't much different."

It was. Hikaru knew it was. This man was clearly crazy. Probably.

"So what? You what do you want me as?"

"A worker perhaps. " The old man took another puff off his pipe. He took his great hand and captured one of Hikaru's in a surprisingly gentle grip. He turned it over so the palm was facing up, running his thumb along it. "Calluses. A great many. I didn't think you would ever get some."

"I do work for the Musashibos, no matter who may be gone now."

"I'm guessing you're turning down my offer."

Hikaru nodded taking his hand away, "There was never an offer. What work do you do? Not that it matters."

The man across from him shrugged his heavy shoulders, "Travel I guess. Some would call me a sort of…Odinic wanderer."

"Then you're a hustler," Hikaru shot back. There was no such thing as just a traveler. "Or a homeless man, but then I guess you did something bad to get that fancy ring on your pinky."

Hikaru may have expected to get a punch for laying out insults or at least get a flash of anger from the old man. Instead there was a deep disappointment in that ice-cold blue eye. Familiarity as well. For a moment, Hikaru thought the gray was disappearing, his worn and aged spots regressing. The old man wasn't old, but clean, staring at him like a relative would as if Hikaru just told him he was leaving the family business.

"Homeless or hustler, why do you look upon me as if I were some vicious demon?"

Hikaru's jaw clenched. He hadn't meant to hurt the man that bad. He just wanted him to go away. It was already a tough week. Almost being arrested, disrespecting the Kusanagi family, getting manhandled by Mrs. Hinoshiza, taking on all these jobs, and most of all the death of Mr. Musashibo.

He didn't answer the man, as if the silence was loud enough to convince him to leave. But the man didn't leave. He stared out at the darkening sky, rain hitting the windows.

"No thunder today," he commented vaguely. "Do you believe in gods Hikaru? Or God?"

"I…don't," replied Hikaru. After another half-moment he corrected himself. "At least I don't think so."

The man worked his jaw, white molars cracking, but he still stared out at the rainy sky, "They are an 'out of sight, out of mind' concept aren't they. No one truly believes in gods unless there is a great need for it. Even then, they don't come. So, I suppose someone like you has no reason to believe in gods."

"Someone like me? How do you mean?"

The man slowly turned his head to face him again, and eerily lightning flashed. Subconsciously, Hikaru counted the time, waiting to hear thunder as thunder always came after lightning. No thunder.

"Are you going to take my offer or not? I guarantee you it will be for the better for everyone."

Hikaru shook his head. He didn't believe this man for one second. He could've been telling the truth, for all Hikaru knew, but he wasn't going to take that risk and fall into trouble.

"That's a shame," the man took a puff of his pipe and exhaled with a whispering sigh. He stood to his full gigantic height, head almost brushing the ceiling. He reached out with his large hand and with strange and comforting gentleness gripped Hikaru's jaw and turned it out the window and up towards the sky.

"My advice then," he whispered, "Watch the skies."

Hikaru didn't hear anything after that. His heart was pounding furiously in his ears. He blinked once, then twice, before he abruptly stood shouting, "Wait! Hold on!"

He raced out after the man but as he barged out the door, the man was nowhere to be seen. Instead, two black birds flitted across his view, flying off, disappearing into the clouds. Hikaru caught his breath enough to remain calm and remember that he had to pay the diner for his drink.

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A/N: Added a few more players into the mold. Read and Review. I'd also like to apologize to those reading and following **A Yule Christmas**, I've been reaching a bit of a hump with that one, but I am actually working over it thankfully, so expect an update soon.


	7. Interlude

All usual disclaimers apply.

-Interlude-

Sachiko Hinoshiza was known by most, but few truly knew her. They knew of her, some were her friends but even her closest of confidants could not tell anyone where she was born, who her parents were, where she went to high school, or what her hobbies were as a kid.

To most, she may have been born fully formed, beautiful and vivacious with maybe a sinister twinkle in her eye in the rare occasion she had been wronged. Most did know that she was married more than once, which seemed strange since she was relatively young. Those who had married her always got the feeling she had a husband before them, but none knew who was the first. They just knew, as they signed the divorce papers, they were the latest of her spouses.

Sachiko Hinoshiza had a longing. She was not exactly wife material, and she seemed too strong to be just looking for the perfect husband. In truth, she was powerful. When she married Mr. Hinoshiza, he knew that she was married before him, to a foreign CEO. To him, she was perfect. Though she looked Japanese, she had this sort of exotic flair and he often questioned if she wasn't just a half-breed.

"The strangest of things are in the most familiar of places," she always replied. Mr. Hinoshiza, though he wasn't on good enough moral ground to be completely faithful, was almost mad with awe at all the perverse and pleasurable things she'd do to him and with him. There were days he was sure she wasn't real. However strange, passionate and sexual, though, she always made him wear socks on his feet.

He asked her once, thinking she had a foot phobia.

"Phobia? No. I was married to a man with perfect and beautiful feet, but he was not the man I wanted. Now I just take that attribute out of the equation."

That only seemed to confuse Mr. Hinoshiza even more, but still, he was on his way to obey her whim when she expressed a profuse desire to move to the seaside, claiming she liked the salty air. The winters were when she was most active, spending nearly every hour on the snowy bay, shoveling, skating, skiing, and walking. It seemed strange that the height of someone's desire to be outside was during the coldest of months. She got really intense during the Winter Olympics and other winter events.

Little did her husband, her friends, her neighbors know, Mrs. Hinoshiza had seen countless winters, at one point went skiing a thousand and one leagues. She had desired to be promised a young boy for marriage when he came of age, knowing he would grow to be fine and handsome in the future, but got an older husband with clean feet.

When she had first seen Hikaru in town, she recognized him, but knew him by another name. That hardly mattered. Her assumptions about him were correct. He was growing to be fine and handsome, if he wasn't already before. The boy she set her sights upon was slowly becoming a nice sturdy man, face still beautiful and bright.

But with all that happened, how she had missed the signs, Mrs. Hinoshiza couldn't believe she had drowned herself in alcohol, like a depressed, rejected college girl and threw herself at Hikaru, desperate to convince him to stay with her, to run away with her to the mountains. For his own safety. Before everything erupted.

Mrs. Hinoshiza stumbled out to her porch, her head aching, feeling an empty feeling in her gut of failure and also unrequited desire. There was not much she could do now. Nothing short of flat out telling Hikaru, but that wouldn't make him believe anything except the fact that she was crazy. Let the Big Man himself do his thing to make up for her blunder, he'd have a better chance than anyone of them. Or if Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Diva could get their act together…

A dark-skinned man with a black dog walked by and stopped, staring right at her.

"Well…" the man said with a wry smirk. "That's one way to get a teenaged boy to see the light. So-to-speak."

Mrs. Hinoshiza snarled, as the man seemed to take a modicum of enjoyment from her situation. Frustrated and her ego bruised she slammed her hand down on the wooden railing encircling her porch, the wood around her hand slowly being encrusted in veins of ice that spread from her fingers.

"Watch yourself, else I freeze your wings off!"

The man didn't take the threat, he stood with his arms crossed, "No need to take your wrath on me, you messed up by yourself…"

Her name came out of his lips like a flap of bird's wings. Only he didn't call her 'Sachiko' or 'Mrs. Hinoshiza.'

_Skadi._

* * *

A/N:A small interlude to gain some light on some of these characters. Skadi is in fact a Norse goddess who has a lovely folktale that deals with a certain god of light. Thanks to those who have followed and reviewed thus far, and for those who asked some questions I won't answer directly as I assure you they will be answered soon in later chapters.


	8. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: yadda yadda, disclaimer, yeah, reach ch 1**

* * *

Chapter 6:

Hikaru returned home to find Mrs. Musashibo talking on the phone with someone. He didn't interrupt her, but she quickly finished her phone call and hung up. Hikaru barely made it to the steps when she called after him.

"Hikaru."

He stopped in his tracks and didn't turn around, a little frightened she would scold him for not returning earlier.

"You have an appointment tomorrow with a sleep therapist."

Dismayed, Hikaru turned around, but said nothing, but his confused look didn't go unnoticed by Mrs. Musashibo.

"You haven't been sleeping well and since you're on your own for now, it'd be best to get help sooner than later."

Sleep. Sure it would be nice to get a restful sleep for once. Restful more than likely meaning dreamless. But if he were honest, ever since Mr. Musashibo's death, he felt like he was in a dream. Like a lazy transition from one dream to the next.

"I…" he paused, dreading what he was saying next. "I was invited to the festival downtown."

Mrs. Musashibo leaned against the kitchen counter and stared at him with a frown. She folded her arms over her chest, but looked relaxed. "I suppose you want to go then."

Hikaru was silent.

Mrs. Musashibo had trouble convincing herself that she was an effective disciplinarian. She had no children of her own so she often told herself she wasn't used to doing this sort of thing with Hikaru. The trouble was, for the year he had been there, there was absolutely no need to punish him. If there was, Mr. Musashibo certainly did most of the verbal punishment even for honest mistakes. But it wasn't about asserting her authority over Hikaru as a guardian. It was about trust. She trusted Hikaru to learn his lesson.

"I'll think about it," she said, not entirely willing to let him off the hook. "Regardless you are going to the sleep therapist tomorrow afternoon."

He knew there was no room for rebuttal and he quietly agreed before going back upstairs to take a shower before dinner.

Dinner was mostly silent. Hikaru wasn't one to make small talk and Mrs. Musashibo was very aware of that. She watched him casually as he picked at his peas, and occasionally take a bite out of the salmon. She often wondered what the blond haired boy was thinking during these common quiet spells. Perhaps he thought of his past, imagined what his past life was like, who his friends were, who his parents were. He never asked those questions. He never inquired if investigators found anything new. In truth, Hikaru never really thought about that. He did on occasion but especially at the moment, he thought of his rather odd day. He probably should've told Mrs. Musashibo what happened with Mrs. Hinoshiza and the stranger at the diner, but he just couldn't. He settled on thinking that it all was nothing and everything would be back to normal tomorrow.

To try to prove a point that he could actually manage to get a good night's sleep, Hikaru went straight to be after cleaning the dishes. His dreams, however, remained fitful and very much a problem...

_A roar pounded his ears and he awoke, staring at a black sea and a whirling torrent of a red sky. Hikaru's hands gripped the earth, finding it to be nothing but mud. Right there, in front of him looming like a glimmer of hope was a big, giant, wooden ship, with one large mast that flapped clean against the upset sky. The boarding plank was right there, set directly in front of Hikaru as if the ship was directing him to board it._

_Hikaru stood, dusting himself off, not immediately noticing a woman walk out from the stern of the ship. She was clearly no ordinary woman. She was gigantic, her head reaching the very top of the stern. Her face was rigid and unforgiving; the skin stretched over her impressive muscles a dark red in color. Her hand pressed against the hull of the stern, as if she were trying to keep the ship in place._

_Hikaru opened his mouth to say something but suddenly a man popped his head up from the side of the ship. He held his hand up in the air, calling with a deep cheerful voice, "Hail, O Bright and Bold Lord."_

_The man had a ruddy face, a mess of thin hair and a thick beard, the color of which kept changing into the vibrant colors of a sunset._

_"Well, come on," he beckoned, "We must hurry."_

_Hikaru gingerly stepped on the plank and ascended onto the ship, feeling like he knew this ship before. It was like coming back to a childhood home after years apart. There was an overwhelming sense of nostalgia as he boarded coupled with unfamiliarity. He took one look around at the deck of the ship, finding it empty, save for the man from before._

_The man however, was shorter than Hikaru expected, barely reaching his waist, his hair a soft purple now._

_"I was beginning to worry. I hadn't seen you in what seems like ages," the man grinned, showing a few gold teeth. His hair changed into a violent orange._

_"D-do I know you?" Hikaru asked, trying not to stare too much at this squat little man. He felt even worse as the man's face fell in dissappointment._

_"Hah…bumped your head a little too much after you'd gone, eh," the man replied, forcing himself to sound optimistic. "Can't remember old Litr, can you? Your huscarl at Breidablik."_

_He didn't know what any of that meant and he was certain he had never met this man in his life. He would know if he had known a dwarf with color-changing hair-which was now a gentle faded pink._

_Litr tugged on the fabric of Hikaru's sweatpants, a disgusted look on his face, "Mortal clothes are so cheap and flimsy. Regardless…" He gave a sharp whistle and peered over the edge of the deck, calling to the giantess, "Hyrrokkin! Set us away."_

_Meanwhile, Hikaru didn't pay much attention. He was staring at the wood of the ship. At first he thought the wood was rotting, but upon closer inspection he realized that several runes were carved neatly along the planks. He sat down near the bow, watching the runes run up and curl on the dragon's head bow. Hyrrokkin grasped the ship firmly and with a mighty grunt pushed the ship into the black seas._

_Whatever his ship was, it took to the seas very well, cutting into the blackness with ease. Hikaru stood, gripping the bow and looking out ahead. He couldn't see anything discernible. Just the red and black volcanic skies._

_"Litr, where are we going?" Hikaru turned but didn't find Litr. Instead standing directly in front of him was a figure all in white, standing, silent and menacingly expressionless. The silence the figure held exuded to the very air, and the washing of the seas, creaking of the ship, the roar of the skies fell to silence._

_It was just him and this male figure, with white hair, blitzed gold eyes, and blinding light that came from his body. Who or whatever he was, he was the same height as Hikaru, but slender, the face though so stony, all too familiar to him._

_Hikaru swallowed, not daring to ask who he was. He didn't want to know. He couldn't bear to know. What he did know was that this godlike figure was overwhelmingly dangerous. That just pained him even more._

_The two stared at each other, Hikaru poised to flee if the white figure dared to move. And yet, Hikaru was stuck as the figure abruptly stepped forth, grasping Hikaru's shoulder in an oddly bone-crushing grip with only the barest of touches. Clearly he was immensely stronger than he seemed._

_Hikaru cried out shortly, but silenced himself, hoping that the light but painful grip didn't close harder. With great ease the young male figure turned him around and forced him to face the rising black water. With a force that he was sure could split another man open the white figure forced Hikaru's head into the water, an angry desperate voice blaring in Hikaru's ears_

_"We are supposed to be dead…"_

_Next he knew, he was drowning in the black pitted water staring up at the redness of the surface as long ships passed above, the oars timed directly in unison, marching._

_"And we will stay dead."_

With a gasp, Hikaru writhed out of his dream state, feeling wetness around his eyes. Instantly, he took a few moments to calm himself, lying back on his bed, gaining air. He wiped the tears away from his eyes, only realizing that he had been crying in his sleep, as he rolled over, blinking in the darkness. He sat at the edge of his bed, wiping more tears from his eyes, feeling a distinct pain of loss. That white figure…words couldn't describe how he felt. Fear? Yes. Anxious? Yes. But most importantly he held dread in his chest as he felt he knew who that figure was supposed to be. That face.

Hikaru touched his own face, unshaven as usual, but he connected it to the memory of his dream. He glanced out his window into the night sky. Calmly he stepped forth to look out seeing only blackness. Almost. There, very very faintly, he spotted two crafts coming in from the sea. Stranger still, their lights weren't on. Ghost riding. That was suspicious. He opened his window to gain a better view. He could make out four tugboats coming in. They had to be pulling something huge, but why are all four running with no lights?

The coast guard. Hikaru frowned. He wanted to be wrong. He wanted to believe that the idea of them hiding something was just his own delusion. Hikaru quickly threw on some jeans, his plaid over shirt, not bothering to button it up and slipped on his hat. As gingerly as he could he crept out of the house, which proved more difficult than imagined. His size and clumsy gate didn't make things easier. He managed to get to the docks undetected and take Mr. Musashibo's boat. He kept the motor low, and the lights off, not wanting to be detected by Mrs. Musashibo, the neighbors, or the coast guard.

In the very active conscious of his mind, he knew he was doing something wrong, but it was overwhelmed with the sense that it was for the sake of the truth, of safety. He sheepishly glanced over his shoulder at Mrs. Musashibo's home, mentally issuing a thousand and one apologies to her.

In the silence of the darkness, all he could do is follow the sky, seeing the stars above. Instead of being afraid of the dark, here, Hikaru found a comfort. The stars were watching him and if he believed in such nonsense of divine beings, the gods were too.

Two birds cut across his vision, breaking his meditation, as his gaze followed to the coast guard port. For the middle of the night, the port looked strangely active. Large blinding lights shown across of the main receiving area where tugboats would take in damaged ships. Aside from the large area lights, Hikaru saw small motorized carts criss-cross along the massive receiving area, scrambling.

There, Hikaru could clearly see that the receiving area held a massive, damaged portion of an aircraft carrier. He couldn't spot the name of the ship, but he was willing to bet that this was the missing U.S carrier that mysteriously "disappeared." Hikaru frowned, seeing the damage. In spite of the ship looking to be broken in half, it still took up the entirety of the port and towered over the Coast Guard tower. Hikaru spotted a helicopter swirl over the mess, it's spotlight hitting different areas, trying light through the dark gaps.

Hikaru coasted closer and closer, hoping the comparatively small boat wouldn't get spotted. He finally stopped the motor completely and took the time to completely take in the damage and what the coast guard- and undoubtedly the U.S military—were doing with the ship. So far, they were doing nothing. He could hear the metallic groan of the ship as the wind blew through the holes and creaking metal. In spite of the activity surrounding the mess, nothing was actually in contact with the ship. What were they dawdling around for?

Hikaru's eyes were blinded by a searing light and a blaring voice over a megaphone "You there, freeze! Hold your arms up!"

A police patrol boat cornered Hikaru and immediately he raised his hands, eyes squinting against the spot light that shone on him. Hikaru knew he was caught and his expression showed it as he immediately surrendered.

"Put your hands behind your head." The officer ordered over the megaphone. Hikaru obeyed. The officers handcuffed him and took him inside the coast guard station. For Hikaru it was like déjà vu all over again. Being detained and placed in a bare room, waiting to be interrogated by someone from the coast guard. This time Captain Ryoshiki sat across from him staring at him, giving him a look of disapproval. In this case however, Ryoshiki was rather stuck too. Hikaru saw something he shouldn't have, and now the coast guard had a witness who was a minor to deal with. Even with the U.S. Military breathing over his back, he couldn't detain a minor and use conventional means to "shut him up."

But this boy couldn't be smart enough to put two and two together or dare to go out broadcasting that the U.S and the Coast Guard of Japan found the missing _U.S.S Nathaniel Greene._

"Here we are again," Captain Ryoshiki said after about fifteen minutes of staring at each other. Hikaru didn't say a thing, his distrustful eyes on the Captain. Ryoshiki leaned forward.

"Do you have any idea how much trouble you—"

"Why did you lie?" Hikaru interrupted him. Ryoshiki's face soured.

"Excuse me?"

"Why did you lie about all this?"

Ryoshiki shook his head, "This is a matter of national security. Trust me, Hikaru, we will give everyone the answers they are looking for eventually."

"What is going on?" Hikaru asked, his jaw set, barely listening to Captain Ryoshiki. "If it something dangerous it is your moral responsi—"

"Who the hell are you tell me what my moral responsibilities are?!" The vein in the Captain's thick neck was starting to bulge. "I'm not going to take any lip from some punk who leeches off of a good woman and a good family."

He wiped his brow, trying to calm his temper, "Stay out of this kid. Don't go meddling in things you know nothing about. You are already in enough trouble as it is and I don't want to bother Yumiko yet again so you are going to sit in that chair until morning."

At that moment an American officer knocked hurriedly on the class of the window, motioning for the Captain to come on out. It seemed urgent. Captain Ryoshiki took one glance at Hikaru and murmured as he slid out of his chair, "Don't get comfortable."

Hikaru watched the Captain and the officer leave down the hall of the station at speedy pace.

Captain Ryoshiki followed the American officer to the coast guard station tower, his nerves tight after his altercation with Yumiko Musashibo's charge and the very concerned looks on the faces of the personel.

"What's happening?"

"We believe we found something inside the ship. It's hard to explain. The Lieutenant Adelwell asked for readings to detect any radiation or harmful fumes and we detected something else."

The officer opened the door to the central command tower. It was filled with a mixture of American military, Japanese government officials, and coast guard officers at computer stations and scrambling about, chatting on information gathered. The large glass window pane at the center of it all had a clear view of the pit if the receiving station that held the remnants of the carrier that was now held in place by heavy industrial strength chains to keep it from collapsing.

"No signs of radiation or chemicals from any known missile or bomb," Lieutenant Adelwell informed, "but we did find this..."

He handed a chart to the captain, that contained a graph that Ryoshiki could no understand.

"What is it?" he asked, glancing up at the American officer.

"We took a piece from the clipped end and had one of our science officers analyze it..." the lieutenant paused and swallowed. He also seemed confused. "It came back positive for some kind of DNA."

"DNA? What kind?" the lower American officer asked, eyebrows shooting up. It was then when Captain Ryoshiki realized that everyone in the American military was jumpy. Not that he couldn't understand why. A hundred or so dead soldiers is nothing to brush off without at least a closing report to your own country.

Lieutenant Adelwall shook his blond head but was interrupted by a clear, cut-to-the-chase voice over his transmitter, "Lieutenant do you read? We have detected movement within the carrier. Over."

All three officers glanced at each other.

"Survivors?" Ryoshiki suggested the possibility.

Turning to the crew, Lieutenant Adelwell instructed, "Shut off the area lights so we can get a clearer view."

A coast guard officer punched a few buttons and suddenly the lights that lit the pit of the recieving area turned black and all that could be seen was the spotlight from the helicopter and the reflections from the motor carts. The officer glanced back at Captain Ryoshiki and Lieutenant Adelwell and nodded, "Completed."

The American lieutenant turned to his underling, "Get a crew to search for survivors."

A small group of men, mostly from the U.S. military ascended the scaffolding that was attatched to the hull of the moaning wreckage. A few of the crew carried various tools and medical equipment in case they found survivors. The military portion of the crew, however, carried revolvers and rifles. They'd be of no use only to make them feel better as the faced the blackness inside the ship. Still, it wasn't enough to stop the chill the shot down their spines. The head of the party shone his flash light through a hole in the hull trying to light through the damage. He could illuminate the rafters, the dented and charred metal but found nothing.

Wait...

He thought he saw something. He tried to position his light the clearly see what he thought he saw. Something wet and glistening. Before the crew could even think of the question, whatever was inside shot out.

With a blood curdling roar that that drowned the screams of the rescue crew, what remained of the ship burst out wide, debris flying towards the station, falling on vehicles and equipment and officers below. Cries and screams from the crew on the ground were muffled as they weren't sure what to be horrified about. In the blackness something large and unearthly wedged itself out of its haven, disoriented, roaring and crying, inadvertently getting caught on the chains that pulled and connected to the electrical wires. The wires flashed giving the officers in the tower a flickering view of a giant beast. A monster. A creature that no one had ever seen before. It's blaring blue eyes blinked against the flashing of the flickering electricity, its scales tough enough to withstand the charge. The men gawked and scrambled as the facility rumbled, disgusted and horrified at the sight. A few of the officers scampered away and out not daring to stay any longer. Lieutenant Adelwell and Captain Ryoshiki grabbed and held on to desks and control panels as the ground shook. With a large electrical explosion the entire facility turned black.

Down in the holding room, Hikaru heard the first roar clearly, succinctly, as it pounded in his head so much he nearly fell off his chair from the pain. Before he could recover, the electricity shut completely off and the electronic lock on the door shut off entirely and the door creaked open. Here, he could make his escape. No. He had to see what was going on. He had to see why several officers crashed into him as they were running away in the opposite direction where he was heading.

Hikaru found himself greeted by a tremendous sight. Bodies of fallen officers and fleeing personnel jumping over them as they frantically ran, debris, bent scaffolding, he thought he ran into some sort of apocalypse. More scaffolding bent, the chains and cables tightening as something in the pit pulled. Then everything seemed to snap. The buildings crumbled and metal split. Poor unfortunate personnel caught were pulled into the pit, screaming and crying meeting what sounded like an unpleasant fate.

Hikaru ran forth, trying to dodge the chaos and figuring out what sort of hell was happening. He stopped in his tracks as he heard a low cracking, demonic purr and then silence. The silence didn't last long as the pit erupted in flames. The flames on gas and oil and an explosion burst from the coast guard tower as it broke from it's sturdy ground. Hikaru turned around, fearing that the entire tower would fall, but his focus was interrupted as he heard the purr again. He froze in place, feeling a dreaded chill run down his back as the ground rumbled. Behind him a massive dark creature ascended slowly from the pit, it's triangle dragon-like horned head hunched below its shoulders, preparing to take another action.

Hikaru slowly turned around, heart stopped completely as it ascended from the pit, it's claws gripping the tar as it climbed out, snapping at the few officers who mistakenly fired weak rifles. Moments later they were devoured in one bite. The dragon's claws smashed motor carts and people as it crushed through what remained of the station, still looking disoriented but not any less devastatingly deadly.

Pacing back and away, trying to dodge the damage and getting out of the monster's way, but he stumbled over his feet and fell to the ground. Breathless, he crawled away, trying to hide underneath the charred wreckage of a truck. Glancing at his side he pulled a rifle from the hand of a dead U.S. officer and pointed it at the dragon's head, although he had no idea how to work a gun, he was prepared to shoot in futility if the monster took one move towards him. All Hikaru could hear was his own heavy breathing as the monster stopped. Two large, wet wings unfurled from its back. With a few flaps, it got rid of the fluid and gathered enough air to rise off the ground and fly away into the darkness, giving out one last roar.

Pulling himself up, Hikaru half ran after the creature trying to get a good view of it, not believing at all what he was seeing.

* * *

**A/N: Aaaand we're off. That's right. A kaiju story. Let's see how much I can mess this up.  
**


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